US 12,169,939 B2
Refinement of image segmentation
Javier Alvarez-Valle, Cambridge (GB); and Richard W. Lowe, Cambridge (GB)
Assigned to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC., Redmond, WA (US)
Appl. No. 17/782,208
Filed by Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
PCT Filed Nov. 27, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/062468
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 3, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/113149, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 10, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 19214225 (EP), filed on Dec. 6, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0032702 A1, Feb. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G06T 7/194 (2017.01); G06T 7/187 (2017.01)
CPC G06T 7/194 (2017.01) [G06T 7/187 (2017.01); G06T 2200/04 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10081 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20108 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving a 3D image including an object depicted in the image, the 3D image comprising an ordered set of 2D images;
determining a contour around the object in a first of said 2D images; and
determining a contour around the object in a second of said 2D images, the second 2D image being non-contiguous with the first in said ordered set, having an intermediate region comprising one or more intermediate ones of said 2D images between the first and second 2D images within said ordered set;
wherein in each of the first and second 2D images, inside of the contour is classified as foreground and outside of the contour is classified as background, and wherein the method further comprises:
performing a 3D geodesic distance computation comprising, for each of a plurality of points in the intermediate region: computing a shortest foreground distance being a shortest 3D geodesic distance from the point to the foreground, and computing a shortest background distance being a shortest 3D geodesic distance from the point to the background; and classifying the point as foreground if the shortest foreground distance is shorter the shortest background distance, but classifying the point as background if the shortest background distance is shorter than the shortest foreground distance.