New method for simultaneous moderate bias correction and image segmentation

This study proposes a new method for simultaneous image segmentation and moderate bias correction. Though many methods are proposed to deal with the image intensity inhomogeneity, some problems still exist and have influenced the segmentation results a lot. In this study, a new model is proposed for image segmentation and correction based on the multiplicative intrinsic component optimization (MICO) model. First, the new model in the level set formulation for gray images has been presented and the split Bregman method for fast minimization has been applied. The proposed model is tested with lots of magnetic resonance images and some medical colour images with promising results. Experimental results show that the proposed model can simultaneously segment images and correct bias field moderately. In the experimental part for gray images, a qualitative comparison between the proposed model and the MICO model in both segmentation and bias-correction results is made. Besides, the proposed model with the Chan-Vese model and the illumination and reflectance estimation model in the experimental part for colour images are compared. Moreover, the proposed model can segment nature colour images successfully. It is clear that the proposed model has a good performance on many characteristics such as accuracy, efficiency, and robustness.