The accurate measurement of kidney glomerular basement membrane (GBM) width from transmission electron micrographs provides vital information in the diagnosis of some kidney diseases. A novel and effective algorithm has been developed for the semi-automatic detection of the GBM by image analysis techniques. The method makes use of the gradual variation of the local features that are characteristic of the membrane. Starting from a seed point specified by the user, local features within a small window are computed to give a feature score. Feature scores for adjacent neighborhoods are also determined, and windows that satisfy a similarity criterion are linked to produce the centerline of the membrane. A region-growing process completes the segmentation procedure.

Date Published: 1 June 1991
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 1445, Medical Imaging V: Image Processing, (1 June 1991); doi: 10.1117/12.45253

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1445:
Medical Imaging V: Image Processing
Murray H. Loew, Editor(s)