3D Orientation Field Transform

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel 3D orientation field transform that extends the 2D version to 3D, enabling enhanced visualization and analysis of 3D curves in images, with applications demonstrated on electron microscopy data.

Contribution

It generalizes the 2D orientation field transform to 3D, providing a flexible modular framework for enhancing 3D curves in images.

Findings

Effective enhancement of 3D curves demonstrated on electron microscopy data

Modular combinations allow tuning sensitivity to curve packing

Method simplifies to 2D case with fewer steps

Abstract

The two-dimensional (2D) orientation field transform has been proved to be effective at enhancing 2D contours and curves in images by means of top-down processing. It, however, has no counterpart in three-dimensional (3D) images due to the extremely complicated orientation in 3D compared to 2D. Practically and theoretically, the demand and interest in 3D can only be increasing. In this work, we modularise the concept and generalise it to 3D curves. Different modular combinations are found to enhance curves to different extents and with different sensitivity to the packing of the 3D curves. In principle, the proposed 3D orientation field transform can naturally tackle any dimensions. As a special case, it is also ideal for 2D images, owning simpler methodology compared to the previous 2D orientation field transform. The proposed method is demonstrated with several transmission electron microscopy tomograms ranging from 2D curve enhancement to, the more important and interesting, 3D ones.