Fusion of physically-based registration and deformation modeling for nonrigid motion analysis.

In our previous work, we used finite element models to determine nonrigid motion parameters and recover unknown local properties of objects given correspondence data recovered with snakes or other tracking models. In this paper, we present a novel multiscale approach to recovery of nonrigid motion from sequences of registered intensity and range images. The main idea of our approach is that a finite element (FEM) model incorporating material properties of the object can naturally handle both registration and deformation modeling using a single model-driving strategy. The method includes a multiscale iterative algorithm based on analysis of the undirected Hausdorff distance to recover correspondences. The method is evaluated with respect to speed and accuracy. Noise sensitivity issues are addressed. Advantages of the proposed approach are demonstrated using man-made elastic materials and human skin motion. Experiments with regular grid features are used for performance comparison with a conventional approach (separate snakes and FEM models). It is shown, however, that the new method does not require a sampling/correspondence template and can adapt the model to available object features. Usefulness of the method is presented not only in the context of tracking and motion analysis, but also for a burn scar detection application.

Scar assessment: current problems and future solutions.

Current problems in the assessment of scars are discussed. The concept of subjective and objective aspects of scar assessment is introduced. The patient's own view of the scar (the subjective component) can currently be assessed and may be very influential in determining the patient's quality of life, irrespective of the actual physical characteristics of the scar. The objective aspects of the scar, including size, shape, texture, and pliability, are currently difficult to measure. Although the Vancouver Scar Scale has been used as the standard for objective measurements, there are problems with both the validity and reliability of this instrument. Various imaging techniques may permit more reliable and accurate methods for measuring the quantitative aspects of scars.

A vision-based technique for objective assessment of burn scars.

In this paper a method for the objective assessment of burn scars is proposed. The quantitative measures developed in this research provide an objective way to calculate elastic properties of burn scars relative to the surrounding areas. The approach combines range data and the mechanics and motion dynamics of human tissues. Active contours are employed to locate regions of interest and to find displacements of feature points using automatically established correspondences. Changes in strain distribution over time are evaluated. Given images at two time instances and their corresponding features, the finite element method is used to synthesize strain distributions of the underlying tissues. This results in a physically based framework for motion and strain analysis. Relative elasticity of the burn scar is then recovered using iterative descent search for the best nonlinear finite element model that approximates stretching behavior of the region containing the burn scar. The results from the skin elasticity experiments illustrate the ability to objectively detect differences in elasticity between normal and abnormal tissue. These estimated differences in elasticity are correlated against the subjective judgments of physicians that are presently the practice.