An automatic initial snaxel selection method in active contour model for contour extraction

Initial selection of snaxels is an important issue in active contour model. In this paper, an automatic initial snaxel selection method (ISSM) by searching along scan lines emitted from center-of-gravity is proposed. The proposed method improves the existing algorithm in determining scan lines on-line and in searching for snaxels within effective edge range along the determined scan lines such that the accuracy of snaxel selection is increased and localization of snaxels are more uniform. With the improvement, the proposed method obtains better initial snaxel selection and snake result than the existing algorithm, as demonstrated in the experimental result.