Studies of anomalous diffusion equation in digital image processing applied to medicine

• Grant number: 10/09513-2
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2011
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering - Medical Engineering
• Principal researcher: Luiz Otavio Murta Junior
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos da Silva Senra Filho
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project proposes the implementation and evaluation of a filter based on anomalous anisotropic diffusion with the purpose of segmentation of medical images and their applications in image processing in general. The equation of anomalous diffusion is known, but not yet implemented as image filter like classical diffusion equation. Here it is proposed to generalize the anisotropic diffusion with the concept of anomalous diffusion in image processing. As methodology we will implement computationally two-dimensional diffusion equations and apply to images of ultrasound (U.S.) and cardiac nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate its potential as an enhancement filter and segmentation technique on the images. The expected outcomes are: to get methods that improve the quality of image segmentation by applying iteratively the anomalous anisotropic diffusion filter, and determine optimal parameters for the difenetes situations to be evaluated. Computationally simulated images and real U.S. and MRI images will be used as test images. Expected to evaluate the anomalous anisotropic diffusion and quantify their performance in signal to noise rate (SNR) and structural simlarity measurement index (SSMI) in terms of method parameters, especially the alpha parameter that represents the anomalous aspect of diffusion