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Linear Time Algorithms for Exact Distance Transform

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Abstract

In 2003, Maurer et al. (IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell. 25:265–270, 2003) published a paper describing an algorithm that computes the exact distance transform in linear time (with respect to image size) for the rectangular binary images in the k-dimensional space ℝk and distance measured with respect to L p -metric for 1≤p≤∞, which includes Euclidean distance L 2. In this paper we discuss this algorithm from theoretical and practical points of view. On the practical side, we concentrate on its Euclidean distance version, discuss the possible ways of implementing it as signed distance transform, and experimentally compare implemented algorithms. We also describe the parallelization of these algorithms and discuss the computational time savings associated with them. All these implementations will be made available as a part of the CAVASS software system developed and maintained in our group (Grevera et al. in J. Digit. Imaging 20:101–118, 2007). On the theoretical side, we prove that our version of the signed distance transform algorithm, GBDT, returns the exact value of the distance from the geometrically defined object boundary. We provide a complete proof (which was not given of Maurer et al. (IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell. 25:265–270, 2003) that all these algorithms work correctly for L p -metric with 1<p<∞. We also point out that the precise form of the algorithm from Maurer et al. (IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell. 25:265–270, 2003) is not well defined for L 1 and L ∞ metrics. In addition, we show that the algorithm can be used to find, in linear time, the exact value of the diameter of an object, that is, the largest possible distance between any two of its elements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6310, USA

    Krzysztof Chris Ciesielski

  2. Dept. of Radiology, MIPG, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Blockley Hall – 4th Floor, 423 Guardian Dr., Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6021, USA

    Krzysztof Chris Ciesielski, Xinjian Chen, Jayaram K. Udupa & George J. Grevera

  3. Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Saint Joseph’s University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19131, USA

    George J. Grevera

Authors
  1. Krzysztof Chris Ciesielski
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  2. Xinjian Chen
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  3. Jayaram K. Udupa
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  4. George J. Grevera
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Krzysztof Chris Ciesielski.

Additional information

J.K. Udupa was partially supported by NIH grant R01-EB004395.

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Ciesielski, K.C., Chen, X., Udupa, J.K. et al. Linear Time Algorithms for Exact Distance Transform. J Math Imaging Vis 39, 193–209 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10851-010-0232-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10851-010-0232-4

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