A detailed description of a new approach to perceptual analysis and processing of medical images is given. Instead of traditional pattern recognition a new method of image analysis is presented, based on a syntactic description of the shapes selected on the image and graph-grammar parsing algorithms. This method of "Image Understanding" can be found as a model of mans' cognitive image understanding processes. The usefulness for the automatic understanding of the merit of medical images is demonstrated as well as the ability for giving useful diagnostic descriptions of the illnesses. As an application, the production of a content-based, automatically generated index for arranging and for searching medical images in multimedia medical databases is presented.

Medical images are at the base of many routine clinical decisions and their influence continues to increase in many fields of medicine. Since the last decade, computers have become an invaluable tool for supporting medical image acquisition, processing, organization and analysis. Biomedical Image Analysis and Machine Learning Technologies: Applications and Techniques provides a panorama of the current boundary between biomedical complexity coming from the medical image context and the multiple techniques which have been used for solving many of these problems. This innovative publication serves as a leading industry reference as well as a source of creative ideas for applications of medical issues.

In recent years, the remarkable advances in medical imaging instruments have increased their use considerably for diagnostics as well as planning and follow-up of treatment. Emerging from the fields of radiology, medical physics and engineering, medical imaging no longer simply deals with the technology and interpretation of radiographic images. The limitless possibilities presented by computer science and technology, coupled with engineering advances in signal processing, optics and nuclear medicine have created the vastly expanded field of medical imaging. The Handbook of Medical Imaging is the first comprehensive compilation of the concepts and techniques used to analyze and manipulate medical images after they have been generated or digitized. The Handbook is organized in six sections that relate to the main functions needed for processing: enhancement, segmentation, quantification, registration, visualization as well as compression storage and telemedicine. * Internationally renowned authors(Johns Hopkins, Harvard, UCLA, Yale, Columbia, UCSF) * Includes imaging and visualization * Contains over 60 pages of stunning, four-color images

This easy-to-follow textbook presents an engaging introduction to the fascinating world of medical image analysis. Avoiding an overly mathematical treatment, the text focuses on intuitive explanations, illustrating the key algorithms and concepts in a way which will make sense to students from a broad range of different backgrounds. Topics and features: explains what light is, and how it can be captured by a camera and converted into an image, as well as how images can be compressed and stored; describes basic image manipulation methods for understanding and improving image quality, and a useful segmentation algorithm; reviews the basic image processing methods for segmenting or enhancing certain features in an image, with a focus on morphology methods for binary images; examines how to detect, describe, and recognize objects in an image, and how the nature of color can be used for segmenting objects; introduces a statistical method to determine what class of object the pixels in an image represent; describes how to change the geometry within an image, how to align two images so that they are as similar as possible, and how to detect lines and paths in images; provides further exercises and other supplementary material at an associated website. This concise and accessible textbook will be invaluable to undergraduate students of computer science, engineering, medicine, and any multi-disciplinary courses that combine topics on health with data science. Medical practitioners working with medical imaging devices will also appreciate this easy-to-understand explanation of the technology.

Medical Image Analysis presents practical knowledge on medical image computing and analysis as written by top educators and experts. This text is a modern, practical, self-contained reference that conveys a mix of fundamental methodological concepts within different medical domains. Sections cover core representations and properties of digital images and image enhancement techniques, advanced image computing methods (including segmentation, registration, motion and shape analysis), machine learning, how medical image computing (MIC) is used in clinical and medical research, and how to identify alternative strategies and employ software tools to solve typical problems in MIC. - An authoritative presentation of key concepts and methods from experts in the field - Sections clearly explaining key methodological principles within relevant medical applications - Self-contained chapters enable the text to be used on courses with differing structures - A representative selection of modern topics and techniques in medical image computing - Focus on medical image computing as an enabling technology to tackle unmet clinical needs - Presentation of traditional and machine learning approaches to medical image computing

With the development of rapidly increasing medical imaging modalities and their applications, the need for computers and computing in image generation, processing, visualization, archival, transmission, modeling, and analysis has grown substantially. Computers are being integrated into almost every medical imaging system. Medical Image Analysis and Informatics demonstrates how quantitative analysis becomes possible by the application of computational procedures to medical images. Furthermore, it shows how quantitative and objective analysis facilitated by medical image informatics, CBIR, and CAD could lead to improved diagnosis by physicians. Whereas CAD has become a part of the clinical workflow in the detection of breast cancer with mammograms, it is not yet established in other applications. CBIR is an alternative and complementary approach for image retrieval based on measures derived from images, which could also facilitate CAD. This book shows how digital image processing techniques can assist in quantitative analysis of medical images, how pattern recognition and classification techniques can facilitate CAD, and how CAD systems can assist in achieving efficient diagnosis, in designing optimal treatment protocols, in analyzing the effects of or response to treatment, and in clinical management of various conditions. The book affirms that medical imaging, medical image analysis, medical image informatics, CBIR, and CAD are proven as well as essential techniques for health care.

The book is designed for end users in the field of digital imaging, who wish to update their skills and understanding with the latest techniques in image analysis. The book emphasizes the conceptual framework of image analysis and the effective use of image processing tools. It uses applications in a variety of fields to demonstrate and consolidate both specific and general concepts, and to build intuition, insight and understanding. Although the chapters are essentially self-contained they reference other chapters to form an integrated whole. Each chapter employs a pedagogical approach to ensure conceptual learning before introducing specific techniques and “tricks of the trade”. The book concentrates on a number of current research applications, and will present a detailed approach to each while emphasizing the applicability of techniques to other problems. The field of topics is wide, ranging from compressive (non-uniform) sampling in MRI, through automated retinal vessel analysis to 3-D ultrasound imaging and more. The book is amply illustrated with figures and applicable medical images. The reader will learn the techniques which experts in the field are currently employing and testing to solve particular research problems, and how they may be applied to other problems.