Conformable Convolution for Topologically Aware Learning of Complex Anatomical Structures

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Yeganeh, Yousef, Xiao, Rui, Guvercin, Goktug, Navab, Nassir, Farshad, Azade
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Yeganeh, Yousef
Xiao, Rui
Guvercin, Goktug
Navab, Nassir
Farshad, Azade
author_facet Yeganeh, Yousef
Xiao, Rui
Guvercin, Goktug
Navab, Nassir
Farshad, Azade
contents While conventional computer vision emphasizes pixel-level and feature-based objectives, medical image analysis of intricate biological structures necessitates explicit representation of their complex topological properties. Despite their successes, deep learning models often struggle to accurately capture the connectivity and continuity of fine, sometimes pixel-thin, yet critical structures due to their reliance on implicit learning from data. Such shortcomings can significantly impact the reliability of analysis results and hinder clinical decision-making. To address this challenge, we introduce Conformable Convolution, a novel convolutional layer designed to explicitly enforce topological consistency. Conformable Convolution learns adaptive kernel offsets that preferentially focus on regions of high topological significance within an image. This prioritization is guided by our proposed Topological Posterior Generator (TPG) module, which leverages persistent homology. The TPG module identifies key topological features and guides the convolutional layers by applying persistent homology to feature maps transformed into cubical complexes. Our proposed modules are architecture-agnostic, enabling them to be integrated seamlessly into various architectures. We showcase the effectiveness of our framework in the segmentation task, where preserving the interconnectedness of structures is critical. Experimental results on three diverse datasets demonstrate that our framework effectively preserves the topology in the segmentation downstream task, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_20608
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Conformable Convolution for Topologically Aware Learning of Complex Anatomical Structures
Yeganeh, Yousef
Xiao, Rui
Guvercin, Goktug
Navab, Nassir
Farshad, Azade
Image and Video Processing
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
While conventional computer vision emphasizes pixel-level and feature-based objectives, medical image analysis of intricate biological structures necessitates explicit representation of their complex topological properties. Despite their successes, deep learning models often struggle to accurately capture the connectivity and continuity of fine, sometimes pixel-thin, yet critical structures due to their reliance on implicit learning from data. Such shortcomings can significantly impact the reliability of analysis results and hinder clinical decision-making. To address this challenge, we introduce Conformable Convolution, a novel convolutional layer designed to explicitly enforce topological consistency. Conformable Convolution learns adaptive kernel offsets that preferentially focus on regions of high topological significance within an image. This prioritization is guided by our proposed Topological Posterior Generator (TPG) module, which leverages persistent homology. The TPG module identifies key topological features and guides the convolutional layers by applying persistent homology to feature maps transformed into cubical complexes. Our proposed modules are architecture-agnostic, enabling them to be integrated seamlessly into various architectures. We showcase the effectiveness of our framework in the segmentation task, where preserving the interconnectedness of structures is critical. Experimental results on three diverse datasets demonstrate that our framework effectively preserves the topology in the segmentation downstream task, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
title Conformable Convolution for Topologically Aware Learning of Complex Anatomical Structures
topic Image and Video Processing
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.20608