Robust Automatic Segmentation of Cell Nucleus Using Multi-scale Space Level Set Method

In this paper, we propose a novel scheme for cell nucleus segmentation which is multi-scale space level set method. Under this scheme, all nuclei of interest in a microscopic image can be segmented simultaneously. The procedure includes three stages. Firstly, the mathematical morphology method is used to search seed points to localize interested nuclei. Secondly, based on the distribution of these seed points, a level set function is initialized. Finally, the level set function evolves and eventually stops zero level set contours at the boundaries of nuclei labeled by seed points. The evolution in the last stage is a three phase evolution. In each phase, information of different scale spaces is employed. This method was tested by truthful microscope images of lymphocyte, which proved its robustness and efficiency.