This chapter presents a survey on the techniques of medical image segmentation. Image segmentation methods are given in three groups based on image features used by the method. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing methods are evaluated, and the motivations to develop new techniques with respect to the addressed problems are given. Digital images and digital videos are pictures and films, respectively, which have been converted into a computer-readable binary format consisting of logical zeros and ones. An image is a still picture that does not change in time, whereas a video evolves in time and generally contains moving and/or changing objects. An important feature of digital images is that they are multidimensional signals, i.e., they are functions of more than a single variable. In the classical study of the digital signal processing the signals are usually one-dimensional functions of time. Images however, are functions of two, and perhaps three space dimensions in case of colored images, whereas a digital video as a function includes a third (or fourth) time dimension as well. A consequence of this is that digital image processing, meaning that significant computational and storage resources are required.
Background
Thalassemias are monogenetic hematologic disorders which are caused by faulty synthesis of one or more of the Hb chains which leads to imbalance in globin chains resulting in hemolysis and impaired erythropoiesis and chronic inflammatory condition. Visfatin is a pro-inflammatory adipocytokine which is mostly expressed in visceral adipose tissue and its testing may help in assessment of severity of the disease.
Aim of the work
This study aims at measuring serum visfatin level in Beta thalassemia patients and its possible correlation to disease severity (major andintermedia).
Patients and methods
Forty-one patients diagnosed as β-thalassemia (major, intermedia) and twenty age and sex-matched healthy individuals as the control group were tested for serum visfatin levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results
Serum visfatin was higher in theß-thalassemia major(ß-TM) group than in the control group (P<0.001). Serum visfatinand serum ferritin were higher inß-TM group than in ß-thalassemia intermediagroup (ß-TI)(p < 0.001).Serum visfatin was found positively correlated with platelet count (P< 0.001) in the ß-TM group.As per ROC curve analysis, measured serum visfatin level was found to discriminate ß-TM group from β-TI group and control group.
Conclusion
There is an association between serum visfatin and the degree of severity of β thalassemia disease.
Recommendations
Testing of the relationship between serum visfatin level and other vascular inflammatory markers in β-thalassemia disease (asadiponectin, resistin, intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)) to clarify the exact mechanism of the inflammatory process in the disease and its complications to alter the course of the disease.Also to study serum visfatin in complicated β-thalassemia patients to establish its possible role in cardiac, vascular, endocrine or any other complications and comparing it with non-complicated patients.
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