Abstract
While Markov random fields are very popular segmentation models in medical image processing, the associated maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation problem is usually solved using iterative methods that are prone to local maxima. We show that a variant of the random walker algorithm can be seen as a relaxation method for the MAP problem under the Potts model. The key advantage of this technique is that it boils down to a sparse linear system with a uniquely defined explicit solution. Our experiments further demonstrate that the resulting MAP approximation can be used to improve the classical mean-field algorithm in terms of MAP estimation quality.
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Roche, A. (2012). Closed-Form Relaxation for MRF-MAP Tissue Classification Using Discrete Laplace Equations. In: Ayache, N., Delingette, H., Golland, P., Mori, K. (eds) Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention – MICCAI 2012. MICCAI 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7511. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33418-4_44
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33418-4_44
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