Two-dimensional reciprocal cross entropy multi-threshold combined with improved firefly algorithm for lung parenchyma segmentation of COVID-19 CT image

The lesions of COVID-19 CT image show various kinds of ground-glass opacity and consolidation, which are distributed in left lung, right lung or both lungs. The lung lobes are uneven and it have similar gray value to the surrounding arteries, veins, and bronchi. The lesions of COVID-19 have different sizes and shapes in different periods. Accurate segmentation of lung parenchyma in CT image is a key step in COVID-19 detection and diagnosis. Aiming at the unideal effect of traditional image segmentation methods on lung parenchyma segmentation in CT images, a lung parenchyma segmentation method based on two-dimensional reciprocal cross entropy multi-threshold combined with improved firefly algorithm is proposed. Firstly, the optimal threshold method is used to realize the initial segmentation of the lung, so that the segmentation threshold can change adaptively according to the detailed information of lung lobes, trachea, bronchi and ground-glass opacity. Then the lung parenchyma is further processed to obtain the lung parenchyma template, and then the defective template is repaired combined with the improved Freeman chain code and Bezier curve. Finally, the lung parenchyma is extracted by multiplying the template with the lung CT image. The accuracy of lung parenchyma segmentation has been improved in the contrast clarity of CT image and the consistency of lung parenchyma regional features, with an average segmentation accuracy rate of 97.4%. The experimental results show that for COVID-19 and suspected cases, the method has an ideal segmentation effect, and it has good accuracy and robustness.

Automated summary

This study proposes an improved method for lung tissue segmentation, combining two-dimensional multi-threshold with firefly algorithm, to enhance the accuracy and consistency of lung tissue segmentation in COVID-19 CT images. The experimental results demonstrate the ideal segmentation effect of this method for COVID-19 and suspected cases.