Interleaved k-NN Classification and Bias Field Estimation for MR Image with Intensity Inhomogeneity

Abstract

k-NN classification has been applied to classify normal tissues in MR images. However, the intensity inhomogeneity of MR images forces conventional k-NN classification into significant misclassification errors. This letter proposes a new interleaved method, which combines k-NN classification and bias field estimation in an energy minimization framework, to simultaneously overcome the limitation of misclassifications in conventional k-NN classification and correct the bias field of observed images. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed algorithm.