Markov random field segmentation for industrial computed tomography with metal artefacts

X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) has become an important tool for industrial measurement and quality control through its ability to measure internal structures and volumetric defects. Segmentation of constituent materials in the volume acquired through XCT is one of the most critical factors that influence its robustness and repeatability. Highly attenuating materials such as steel can introduce artefacts in CT images that adversely affect the segmentation process, and results in large errors during quantification. This paper presents a Markov Random Field (MRF) segmentation method as a suitable approach for industrial samples with metal artefacts. The advantages of employing the MRF segmentation method are shown in comparison with Otsu thresholding on CT data from two industrial objects.