🍩 Database of Original & Non-Theoretical Uses of Topology
(found 4 matches in 0.00176s)
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Automatic Tree Ring Detection Using Jacobi Sets (2020)
Kayla Makela, Tim Ophelders, Michelle Quigley, Elizabeth Munch, Daniel Chitwood, Asia DowtinAbstract
Tree ring widths are an important source of climatic and historical data, but measuring these widths typically requires extensive manual work. Computer vision techniques provide promising directions towards the automation of tree ring detection, but most automated methods still require a substantial amount of user interaction to obtain high accuracy. We perform analysis on 3D X-ray CT images of a cross-section of a tree trunk, known as a tree disk. We present novel automated methods for locating the pith (center) of a tree disk, and ring boundaries. Our methods use a combination of standard image processing techniques and tools from topological data analysis. We evaluate the efficacy of our method for two different CT scans by comparing its results to manually located rings and centers and show that it is better than current automatic methods in terms of correctly counting each ring and its location. Our methods have several parameters, which we optimize experimentally by minimizing edit distances to the manually obtained locations. -
Lung Topology Characteristics in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (2018)
Francisco Belchi, Mariam Pirashvili, Joy Conway, Michael Bennett, Ratko Djukanovic, Jacek BrodzkiAbstract
Quantitative features that can currently be obtained from medical imaging do not provide a complete picture of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). In this paper, we introduce a novel analytical tool based on persistent homology that extracts quantitative features from chest CT scans to describe the geometric structure of the airways inside the lungs. We show that these new radiomic features stratify COPD patients in agreement with the GOLD guidelines for COPD and can distinguish between inspiratory and expiratory scans. These CT measurements are very different to those currently in use and we demonstrate that they convey significant medical information. The results of this study are a proof of concept that topological methods can enhance the standard methodology to create a finer classification of COPD and increase the possibilities of more personalized treatment. -
Pore Geometry Characterization by Persistent Homology Theory (2018)
Fei Jiang, Takeshi Tsuji, Tomoyuki ShiraiAbstract
Rock pore geometry has heterogeneous characteristics and is scale dependent. This feature in a geological formation differs significantly from artificial materials and makes it difficult to predict hydrologic and elastic properties. To characterize pore heterogeneity, we propose an evaluation method that exploits the recently developed persistent homology theory. In the proposed method, complex pore geometry is first represented as sphere cloud data using a pore-network extraction method. Then, a persistence diagram (PD) is calculated from the point cloud, which represents the spatial distribution of pore bodies. A new parameter (distance index H) derived from the PD is proposed to characterize the degree of rock heterogeneity. Low H value indicates high heterogeneity. A new empirical equation using this index H is proposed to predict the effective elastic modulus of porous media. The results indicate that the proposed PD analysis is very efficient for extracting topological feature of pore geometry.