@article{KozlikovaKroneFalketal.2016, author = {Kozl{\´i}kov{\´a}, Barbora and Krone, Michael and Falk, Martin and Lindow, Norbert and Baaden, Marc and Baum, Daniel and Viola, Ivan and Parulek, Julius and Hege, Hans-Christian}, title = {Visualization of Biomolecular Structures: State of the Art Revisited}, volume = {36}, journal = {Computer Graphics Forum}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1111/cgf.13072}, pages = {178 -- 204}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Structural properties of molecules are of primary concern in many fields. This report provides a comprehensive overview on techniques that have been developed in the fields of molecular graphics and visualization with a focus on applications in structural biology. The field heavily relies on computerized geometric and visual representations of three-dimensional, complex, large and time-varying molecular structures. The report presents a taxonomy that demonstrates which areas of molecular visualization have already been extensively investigated and where the field is currently heading. It discusses visualizations for molecular structures, strategies for efficient display regarding image quality and frame rate, covers different aspects of level of detail and reviews visualizations illustrating the dynamic aspects of molecular simulation data. The survey concludes with an outlook on promising and important research topics to foster further success in the development of tools that help to reveal molecular secrets.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{ArltLindowBaumetal.2016, author = {Arlt, Tobias and Lindow, Norbert and Baum, Daniel and Hilger, Andre and Mahnke, Ingo and Hege, Hans-Christian and Lepper, Verena and Siopi, Tzulia and Mahnke, Heinz.Eberhard}, title = {Virtual Access to Hidden Texts - Study of Ancient Papyri}, booktitle = {Eighth Joint BER II and BESSY II User Meeting, Dec 7-9, 2016, Berlin, Germany}, year = {2016}, abstract = {When physical unfolding/unrolling of papyri is not possible or too dangerous for preserving the precious object, tomographic approaches may be the ap- propriate alternative. Requirements are the resolution and the contrast to distinguish writing and substrate. The steps to be performed are the following: (1) Select the object of interest (archaeological arguments, cultural back- ground of the object, etc.). (2) Find the proper physical procedure, especially with respect to contrast, take the tomographic data, e.g. by absorption x-ray tomography. (3) Apply mathematical unfolding transformations to the tomographic data, in order to obtain a 2d-planar reconstruction of text.}, language = {en} } @article{AboulhassanSicatBaumetal.2017, author = {Aboulhassan, Amal and Sicat, Ronell and Baum, Daniel and Wodo, Olga and Hadwiger, Markus}, title = {Comparative Visual Analysis of Structure-Performance Relations in Complex Bulk-Heterojunction Morphologies}, volume = {36}, journal = {Computer Graphics Forum}, number = {3}, publisher = {Wiley}, doi = {10.1111/cgf.13191}, pages = {329 -- 339}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The structure of Bulk-Heterojunction (BHJ) materials, the main component of organic photovoltaic solar cells, is very complex, and the relationship between structure and performance is still largely an open question. Overall, there is a wide spectrum of fabrication configurations resulting in different BHJ morphologies and correspondingly different performances. Current state- of-the-art methods for assessing the performance of BHJ morphologies are either based on global quantification of morphological features or simply on visual inspection of the morphology based on experimental imaging. This makes finding optimal BHJ structures very challenging. Moreover, finding the optimal fabrication parameters to get an optimal structure is still an open question. In this paper, we propose a visual analysis framework to help answer these questions through comparative visualization and parameter space exploration for local morphology features. With our approach, we enable scientists to explore multivariate correlations between local features and performance indicators of BHJ morphologies. Our framework is built on shape-based clustering of local cubical regions of the morphology that we call patches. This enables correlating the features of clusters with intuition-based performance indicators computed from geometrical and topological features of charge paths.}, language = {en} } @article{HombergBaumProhaskaetal.2017, author = {Homberg, Ulrike and Baum, Daniel and Prohaska, Steffen and G{\"u}nster, Jens and Krauß-Sch{\"u}ler, Stefanie}, title = {Adapting trabecular structures for 3D printing: an image processing approach based on µCT data}, volume = {3}, journal = {Biomedical Physics \& Engineering Express}, number = {3}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, doi = {10.1088/2057-1976/aa7611}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Materials with a trabecular structure notably combine advantages such as lightweight, reasonable strength, and permeability for fluids. This combination of advantages is especially interesting for tissue engineering in trauma surgery and orthopedics. Bone-substituting scaffolds for instance are designed with a trabecular structure in order to allow cell migration for bone ingrowth and vascularization. An emerging and recently very popular technology to produce such complex, porous structures is 3D printing. However, several technological aspects regarding the scaffold architecture, the printable resolution, and the feature size have to be considered when fabricating scaffolds for bone tissue replacement and regeneration. Here, we present a strategy to assess and prepare realistic trabecular structures for 3D printing using image analysis with the aim of preserving the structural elements. We discuss critical conditions of the printing system and present a 3-stage approach to adapt a trabecular structure from \$\mu\$CT data while incorporating knowledge about the printing system. In the first stage, an image-based extraction of solid and void structures is performed, which results in voxel- and graph-based representations of the extracted structures. These representations not only allow us to quantify geometrical properties such as pore size or strut geometry and length. But, since the graph represents the geometry and the topology of the initial structure, it can be used in the second stage to modify and adjust feature size, volume and sample size in an easy and consistent way. In the final reconstruction stage, the graph is then converted into a voxel representation preserving the topology of the initial structure. This stage generates a model with respect to the printing conditions to ensure a stable and controlled voxel placement during the printing process.}, language = {en} } @misc{HombergBaumProhaskaetal.2017, author = {Homberg, Ulrike and Baum, Daniel and Prohaska, Steffen and G{\"u}nster, Jens and Krauß-Sch{\"u}ler, Stefanie}, title = {Adapting trabecular structures for 3D printing: an image processing approach based on µCT data}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-64004}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Materials with a trabecular structure notably combine advantages such as lightweight, reasonable strength, and permeability for fluids. This combination of advantages is especially interesting for tissue engineering in trauma surgery and orthopedics. Bone-substituting scaffolds for instance are designed with a trabecular structure in order to allow cell migration for bone ingrowth and vascularization. An emerging and recently very popular technology to produce such complex, porous structures is 3D printing. However, several technological aspects regarding the scaffold architecture, the printable resolution, and the feature size have to be considered when fabricating scaffolds for bone tissue replacement and regeneration. Here, we present a strategy to assess and prepare realistic trabecular structures for 3D printing using image analysis with the aim of preserving the structural elements. We discuss critical conditions of the printing system and present a 3-stage approach to adapt a trabecular structure from \$\mu\$CT data while incorporating knowledge about the printing system. In the first stage, an image-based extraction of solid and void structures is performed, which results in voxel- and graph-based representations of the extracted structures. These representations not only allow us to quantify geometrical properties such as pore size or strut geometry and length. But, since the graph represents the geometry and the topology of the initial structure, it can be used in the second stage to modify and adjust feature size, volume and sample size in an easy and consistent way. In the final reconstruction stage, the graph is then converted into a voxel representation preserving the topology of the initial structure. This stage generates a model with respect to the printing conditions to ensure a stable and controlled voxel placement during the printing process.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{BaumMahlowLameckeretal.2014, author = {Baum, Daniel and Mahlow, Kristin and Lamecker, Hans and Zachow, Stefan and M{\"u}ller, Johannes and Hege, Hans-Christian}, title = {The Potential of Surface-based Geometric Morphometrics for Evolutionary Studies: An Example using Dwarf Snakes (Eirenis)}, booktitle = {Abstract in DigitalSpecimen 2014}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Geometric morphometrics plays an important role in evolutionary studies. The state-of-the-art in this field are landmark-based methods. Since the landmarks usually need to be placed manually, only a limited number of landmarks are generally used to represent the shape of an anatomical structure. As a result, shape characteristics that cannot be properly represented by small sets of landmarks are disregarded. In this study, we present a method that is free of this limitation. The method takes into account the whole shape of an anatomical structure, which is represented as a surface, hence the term 'surface-based morphometrics'. Correspondence between two surfaces is established by defining a partitioning of the surfaces into homologous surface patches. The first step for the generation of a surface partitioning is to place landmarks on the surface. Subsequently, the landmarks are connected by curves lying on the surface. The curves, called 'surface paths', might either follow specific anatomical features or they can be geodesics, that is, shortest paths on the surface. One important requirement, however, is that the resulting surface path networks are topologically equivalent across all surfaces. Once the surface path networks have been defined, the surfaces are decomposed into patches according to the path networks. This approach has several advantages. One of them is that we can discretize the surface by as many points as desired. Thus, even fine shape details can be resolved if this is of interest for the study. Since a point discretization is used, another advantage is that well-established analysis methods for landmark-based morphometrics can be utilized. Finally, the shapes can be easily morphed into one another, thereby greatly supporting the understanding of shape changes across all considered specimens. To show the potential of the described method for evolutionary studies of biological specimens, we applied the method to the para-basisphenoid complex of the snake genus Eirenis. By using this anatomical structure as example, we present all the steps that are necessary for surface-based morphometrics, including the segmentation of the para-basisphenoid complex from micro-CT data sets. We also show some first results using statistical analysis as well as classification methods based on the presented technique.}, language = {en} } @article{PaetschBaumProhaskaetal.2014, author = {Paetsch, Olaf and Baum, Daniel and Prohaska, Steffen and Ehrig, Karsten and Ebell, Gino and Meinel, Dietmar and Heyn, Andreas}, title = {Korrosionsverfolgung in 3D-computertomographischen Aufnahmen von Stahlbetonproben}, journal = {DGZfP-Jahrestagung 2014 Konferenzband}, year = {2014}, language = {de} } @misc{PaetschBaumEbelletal.2014, author = {Paetsch, Olaf and Baum, Daniel and Ebell, Gino and Ehrig, Karsten and Heyn, Andreas and Meinel, Dietmar and Prohaska, Steffen}, title = {Korrosionsverfolgung in 3D-computertomographischen Aufnahmen von Stahlbetonproben}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-50912}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Kurzfassung. Durch die Alkalit{\"a}t des Betons wird Betonstahl dauerhaft vor Korrosion gesch{\"u}tzt. Infolge von Chlorideintrag kann dieser Schutz nicht l{\"a}nger aufrechterhalten werden und f{\"u}hrt zu Lochkorrosion. Die zerst{\"o}rungsfreie Pr{\"u}fung von Stahlbetonproben mit 3D-CT bietet die M{\"o}glichkeit, eine Probe mehrfach gezielt vorzusch{\"a}digen und den Korrosionsfortschritt zu untersuchen. Zur Quantifizierung des Sch{\"a}digungsgrades m{\"u}ssen die bei dieser Untersuchung anfallenden großen Bilddaten mit Bildverarbeitungsmethoden ausgewertet werden. Ein wesentlicher Schritt dabei ist die Segmentierung der Bilddaten, bei der zwischen Korrosionsprodukt (Rost), Betonstahl (BSt), Beton, Rissen, Poren und Umgebung unterschieden werden muss. Diese Segmentierung bildet die Grundlage f{\"u}r statistische Untersuchungen des Sch{\"a}digungsfortschritts. Hierbei sind die {\"A}nderung der BSt-Geometrie, die Zunahme von Korrosionsprodukten und deren Ver{\"a}nderung {\"u}ber die Zeit sowie ihrer r{\"a}umlichen Verteilung in der Probe von Interesse. Aufgrund der Gr{\"o}ße der CT-Bilddaten ist eine manuelle Segmentierung nicht durchf{\"u}hrbar, so dass automatische Verfahren unabdingbar sind. Dabei ist insbesondere die Segmentierung der Korrosionsprodukte in den Bilddaten ein schwieriges Problem. Allein aufgrund der Grauwerte ist eine Zuordnung nahezu unm{\"o}glich, denn die Grauwerte von Beton und Korrosionsprodukt unterscheiden sich kaum. Eine formbasierte Suche ist nicht offensichtlich, da die Korrosionsprodukte in Beton diffuse Formen haben. Allerdings l{\"a}sst sich Vorwissen {\"u}ber die Ausbreitung der Korrosionsprodukte nutzen. Sie bilden sich in r{\"a}umlicher N{\"a}he des BSt (in Bereichen vorheriger Volumenabnahme des BSt), entlang von Rissen sowie in Porenr{\"a}umen, die direkt am BSt und in dessen Nahbereich liegen. Davon ausgehend wird vor der Korrosionsprodukterkennung zun{\"a}chst eine BSt-Volumen-, Riss- und Porenerkennung durchgef{\"u}hrt. Dieser in der Arbeit n{\"a}her beschriebene Schritt erlaubt es, halbautomatisch Startpunkte (Seed Points) f{\"u}r die Korrosionsprodukterkennung zu finden. Weiterhin werden verschiedene in der Bildverarbeitung bekannte Algorithmen auf ihre Eignung untersucht werden.}, language = {de} } @article{FaerberTitschackSchoenbergetal.2016, author = {F{\"a}rber, Claudia and Titschack, J{\"u}rgen and Sch{\"o}nberg, Christine H. L. and Ehrig, Karsten and Boos, Karin and Baum, Daniel and Illerhaus, Bernd and Asgaard, Ulla and Bromley, Richard G. and Freiwald, Andr{\´e} and Wisshak, Max}, title = {Long-term macrobioerosion in the Mediterranean Sea assessed by micro-computed tomography}, volume = {13}, journal = {Biogeosciences}, number = {11}, address = {http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/3461/2016/}, doi = {10.5194/bg-13-3461-2016}, pages = {3461 -- 3474}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Biological erosion is a key process for the recycling of carbonate and the formation of calcareous sediments in the oceans. Experimental studies showed that bioerosion is subject to distinct temporal variability, but previous long-term studies were restricted to tropical waters. Here, we present results from a 14-year bioerosion experiment that was carried out along the rocky limestone coast of the island of Rhodes, Greece, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, in order to monitor the pace at which bioerosion affects carbonate substrate and the sequence of colonisation by bioeroding organisms. Internal macrobioerosion was visualised and quantified by micro-computed tomography and computer-algorithm-based segmentation procedures. Analysis of internal macrobioerosion traces revealed a dominance of bioeroding sponges producing eight types of characteristic Entobia cavity networks, which were matched to five different clionaid sponges by spicule identification in extracted tissue. The morphology of the entobians strongly varied depending on the species of the producing sponge, its ontogenetic stage, available space, and competition by other bioeroders. An early community developed during the first 5 years of exposure with initially very low macrobioerosion rates and was followed by an intermediate stage when sponges formed large and more diverse entobians and bioerosion rates increased. After 14 years, 30 \% of the block volumes were occupied by boring sponges, yielding maximum bioerosion rates of 900 g m^-2 yr^-1. A high spatial variability in macrobioerosion prohibited clear conclusions about the onset of macrobioerosion equilibrium conditions. This highlights the necessity of even longer experimental exposures and higher replication at various factor levels in order to better understand and quantify temporal patterns of macrobioerosion in marine carbonate environments.}, language = {en} } @misc{KozlikovaKroneFalketal.2015, author = {Kozlikova, Barbora and Krone, Michael and Falk, Martin and Lindow, Norbert and Baaden, Marc and Baum, Daniel and Viola, Ivan and Parulek, Julius and Hege, Hans-Christian}, title = {Visualization of Biomolecular Structures: State of the Art}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.2312/eurovisstar.20151112}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-57217}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Structural properties of molecules are of primary concern in many fields. This report provides a comprehensive overview on techniques that have been developed in the fields of molecular graphics and visualization with a focus on applications in structural biology. The field heavily relies on computerized geometric and visual representations of three-dimensional, complex, large, and time-varying molecular structures. The report presents a taxonomy that demonstrates which areas of molecular visualization have already been extensively investigated and where the field is currently heading. It discusses visualizations for molecular structures, strategies for efficient display regarding image quality and frame rate, covers different aspects of level of detail, and reviews visualizations illustrating the dynamic aspects of molecular simulation data. The survey concludes with an outlook on promising and important research topics to foster further success in the development of tools that help to reveal molecular secrets.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{KozlikovaKroneLindowetal.2015, author = {Kozlikova, Barbora and Krone, Michael and Lindow, Norbert and Falk, Martin and Baaden, Marc and Baum, Daniel and Viola, Ivan and Parulek, Julius and Hege, Hans-Christian}, title = {Visualization of Biomolecular Structures: State of the Art}, booktitle = {EuroVis 2015 STARS Proceedings}, doi = {10.2312/eurovisstar.20151112}, pages = {61 -- 81}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Structural properties of molecules are of primary concern in many fields. This report provides a comprehensive overview on techniques that have been developed in the fields of molecular graphics and visualization with a focus on applications in structural biology. The field heavily relies on computerized geometric and visual representations of three-dimensional, complex, large, and time-varying molecular structures. The report presents a taxonomy that demonstrates which areas of molecular visualization have already been extensively investigated and where the field is currently heading. It discusses visualizations for molecular structures, strategies for efficient display regarding image quality and frame rate, covers different aspects of level of detail, and reviews visualizations illustrating the dynamic aspects of molecular simulation data. The report concludes with an outlook on promising and important research topics to enable further success in advancing the knowledge about interaction of molecular structures.}, language = {en} } @misc{TitschackBaum2014, author = {Titschack, J{\"u}rgen and Baum, Daniel}, title = {Advanced computed tomography analyses of cold-water coral mound cores: new insights into mound formation processes}, journal = {Poster, 19th International Sedimentological Congress, Geneva, Switzerland, 2014, August 18 - 22}, year = {2014}, language = {en} } @misc{TitschackBaum2015, author = {Titschack, J{\"u}rgen and Baum, Daniel}, title = {Ambient occlusion - a powerful algorithm to segment skeletal intrapores and gastral cavities in dendrophyllid cold-water corals}, journal = {Poster, 31st IAS Meeting of Sedimentology, 2015, June 22-25, Krak{\´o}w, Poland}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @misc{KnoetelSeidelWeaveretal.2015, author = {Kn{\"o}tel, David and Seidel, Ronald and Weaver, James C. and Baum, Daniel and Dean, Mason N.}, title = {Segmentation of the Tessellated Mineralized Endoskeleton of Sharks and Rays}, journal = {Poster, Tomography for Scientific Advancement symposium (ToScA), Manchester, UK, September 3 - 4, 2015}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The cartilaginous endoskeletons of sharks and rays are covered by tiles of mineralized cartilage called tesserae that enclose areas of unmineralized cartilage. These tesselated layers are vital to the growth as well as the material properties of the skeleton, providing both flexibility and strength. An understanding of the principles behind the tiling of the mineralized layer requires a quantitative analysis of shark and ray skeletal tessellation. However, since a single skeletal element comprises several thousand tesserae, manual segmentation is infeasible. We developed an automated segmentation pipeline that, working from micro-CT data, allows quantification of all tesserae in a skeletal element in less than an hour. Our segmentation algorithm relies on aspects we have learned of general tesseral morphology. In micro-CT scans, tesserae usually appear as round or star-shaped plate-like tiles, wider than deep and connected by mineralized intertesseral joints. Based on these observations, we exploit the distance map of the mineralized layer to separate individual tiles using a hierarchical watershed algorithm. Utilizing a two-dimensional distance map that measures the distance in the plane of the mineralized layer only greatly improves the segmentation. We developed post-processing techniques to quickly correct segmentation errors in regions where tesseral shape differs from the assumed shape. Evaluation of our results is done qualitatively by visual comparison with raw datasets, and quantitatively by comparison to manual segmentations. Furthermore, we generate two-dimensional abstractions of the tiling network based on the neighborhood, allowing representation of complex, biological forms as simpler geometries. We apply our newly developed techniques to the analysis of the left and right hyomandibulae of four ages of stingray enabling the first quantitative analyses of the tesseral tiling structure, while clarifying how these patterns develop across ontogeny.}, language = {en} } @misc{KnoetelSeidelHosnyetal.2016, author = {Kn{\"o}tel, David and Seidel, Ronald and Hosny, Ahmed and Zaslansky, Paul and Weaver, James C. and Baum, Daniel and Dean, Mason N.}, title = {Understanding the Tiling Rules of the Tessellated Mineralized Endoskeleton of Sharks and Rays}, journal = {Poster, Euro Bio-inspired Materials 2016, Potsdam, Germany, February 22 - 25, 2016}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The endoskeletons of sharks and rays are composed of an unmineralized cartilaginous core, covered in an outer layer of mineralized tiles called tesserae. The tessellated layer is vital to the growth as well as the material properties of the skeletal element, providing both flexibility and strength. However, characterizing the relationship between tesseral size and shape, and skeletal growth and mechanics is challenging because tesserae are small (a few hundred micrometers wide), anchored to the surrounding tissue in complex three-dimensional ways, and occur in huge numbers. Using a custom-made semi-automatic segmentation algorithm, we present the first quantitative and three-dimensional description of tesserae in micro-CT scans of whole skeletal elements. Our segmentation algorithm relies on aspects we have learned of general tesseral morphology. We exploit the distance map of the mineralized layer to separate individual tiles using a hierarchical watershed algorithm. Additionally, we have developed post-processing techniques to quickly correct segmentation errors. Our data reveals that the tessellation is not regular, with tesserae showing a great range of shapes, sizes and number of neighbors. This is partly region-dependent: for example, thick, columnar tesserae are arranged in series along convex edges with small radius of curvature (RoC), whereas more brick-or disc-shaped tesserae are found in planar areas. We apply our newly developed techniques on the left and right hyomandibula (skeletal elements supporting the jaws) from four different ages of a stingray species, to clarify how tiling patterns develop across ontogeny and differ within and between individuals. We evaluate the functional consequences of tesseral morphologies using finite element analysis and 3d-printing, for a better understanding of shark skeletal mechanics, but also to extract fundamental engineering design principles of tiling arrangements on load-bearing three-dimensional objects.}, language = {en} } @misc{SeidelKnoetelBaumetal.2014, author = {Seidel, Ronald and Kn{\"o}tel, David and Baum, Daniel and Weaver, James C. and Dean, Mason N.}, title = {Material and structural characterization of mineralized elasmobranch cartilage - lessons in repeated tiling patterns in mechanically loaded 3D objects}, journal = {Poster, Tomography for Scientific Advancement symposium (ToScA), London, UK, September 1 - 3, 2014}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Biological tissues achieve a wide range of properties and function, however with limited components. The organization of these constituent parts is a decisive factor in the impressive properties of biological materials, with tissues often exhibiting complex arrangements of hard and soft materials. The "tessellated" cartilage of the endoskeleton of sharks and rays, for example, is a natural composite of mineralized polygonal tiles (tesserae), collagen fiber bundles, and unmineralized cartilage, resulting in a material that is both flexible and strong, with optimal stiffness. The properties of the materials and the tiling geometry are vital to the growth and mechanics of the system, but had not been investigated due to the technical challenges involved. We use high-resolution materials characterization techniques (qBEI, µCT) to show that tesserae exhibit great variability in mineral density, supporting theories of accretive growth mechanisms. We present a developmental series of tesserae and outline the development of unique structural features that appear to function in load bearing and energy dissipation, with some structural features far exceeding cortical bone's mineral content and tissue stiffness. To examine interactions among tesserae, we developed an advanced tiling-recognition-algorithm to semi-automatically detect and isolate individual tiles in microCT scans of tesseral mats. The method allows quantification of shape variation across a wide area, allowing localization of regions of high/low reinforcement or flexibility in the skeleton. The combination of our material characterization and visualization techniques allows the first quantitative 3d description of anatomy and material properties of tesserae and the organization of tesseral networks in elasmobranch mineralized cartilage, providing insight into form-function relationships of the repeating tiled pattern. We aim to combine detailed knowledge of intra-tesseral morphology and mineralization to model the relationships of tesseral shapes and skeletal surface curvature, to understand fundamental tiling laws important for complex, mechanically loaded 3d objects.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{PaetschBaumProhaskaetal.2015, author = {Paetsch, Olaf and Baum, Daniel and Prohaska, Steffen and Ehrig, Karsten and Meinel, Dietmar and Ebell, Gino}, title = {3D Corrosion Detection in Time-dependent CT Images of Concrete}, booktitle = {DIR-2015 Proceedings}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In civil engineering, the corrosion of steel reinforcements in structural elements of concrete bares a risk of stability-reduction, mainly caused by the exposure to chlorides. 3D computed tomography (CT) reveals the inner structure of concrete and allows one to investigate the corrosion with non-destructive testing methods. To carry out such investigations, specimens with a large artificial crack and an embedded steel rebar have been manufactured. 3D CT images of those specimens were acquired in the original state. Subsequently three cycles of electrochemical pre-damaging together with CT imaging were applied. These time series have been evaluated by means of image processing algorithms to segment and quantify the corrosion products. Visualization of the results supports the understanding of how corrosion propagates into cracks and pores. Furthermore, pitting of structural elements can be seen without dismantling. In this work, several image processing and visualization techniques are presented that have turned out to be particularly effective for the visualization and segmentation of corrosion products. Their combination to a workflow for corrosion analysis is the main contribution of this work.}, language = {en} } @misc{KnoetelSeidelProhaskaetal.2017, author = {Kn{\"o}tel, David and Seidel, Ronald and Prohaska, Steffen and Dean, Mason N. and Baum, Daniel}, title = {Automated Segmentation of Complex Patterns in Biological Tissues: Lessons from Stingray Tessellated Cartilage}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-65785}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Introduction - Many biological structures show recurring tiling patterns on one structural level or the other. Current image acquisition techniques are able to resolve those tiling patterns to allow quantitative analyses. The resulting image data, however, may contain an enormous number of elements. This renders manual image analysis infeasible, in particular when statistical analysis is to be conducted, requiring a larger number of image data to be analyzed. As a consequence, the analysis process needs to be automated to a large degree. In this paper, we describe a multi-step image segmentation pipeline for the automated segmentation of the calcified cartilage into individual tesserae from computed tomography images of skeletal elements of stingrays. Methods - Besides applying state-of-the-art algorithms like anisotropic diffusion smoothing, local thresholding for foreground segmentation, distance map calculation, and hierarchical watershed, we exploit a graph-based representation for fast correction of the segmentation. In addition, we propose a new distance map that is computed only in the plane that locally best approximates the calcified cartilage. This distance map drastically improves the separation of individual tesserae. We apply our segmentation pipeline to hyomandibulae from three individuals of the round stingray (Urobatis halleri), varying both in age and size. Results - Each of the hyomandibula datasets contains approximately 3000 tesserae. To evaluate the quality of the automated segmentation, four expert users manually generated ground truth segmentations of small parts of one hyomandibula. These ground truth segmentations allowed us to compare the segmentation quality w.r.t. individual tesserae. Additionally, to investigate the segmentation quality of whole skeletal elements, landmarks were manually placed on all tesserae and their positions were then compared to the segmented tesserae. With the proposed segmentation pipeline, we sped up the processing of a single skeletal element from days or weeks to a few hours.}, language = {en} } @article{KnoetelSeidelProhaskaetal.2017, author = {Kn{\"o}tel, David and Seidel, Ronald and Prohaska, Steffen and Dean, Mason N. and Baum, Daniel}, title = {Automated Segmentation of Complex Patterns in Biological Tissues: Lessons from Stingray Tessellated Cartilage}, journal = {PLOS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0188018}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Introduction - Many biological structures show recurring tiling patterns on one structural level or the other. Current image acquisition techniques are able to resolve those tiling patterns to allow quantitative analyses. The resulting image data, however, may contain an enormous number of elements. This renders manual image analysis infeasible, in particular when statistical analysis is to be conducted, requiring a larger number of image data to be analyzed. As a consequence, the analysis process needs to be automated to a large degree. In this paper, we describe a multi-step image segmentation pipeline for the automated segmentation of the calcified cartilage into individual tesserae from computed tomography images of skeletal elements of stingrays. Methods - Besides applying state-of-the-art algorithms like anisotropic diffusion smoothing, local thresholding for foreground segmentation, distance map calculation, and hierarchical watershed, we exploit a graph-based representation for fast correction of the segmentation. In addition, we propose a new distance map that is computed only in the plane that locally best approximates the calcified cartilage. This distance map drastically improves the separation of individual tesserae. We apply our segmentation pipeline to hyomandibulae from three individuals of the round stingray (Urobatis halleri), varying both in age and size. Results - Each of the hyomandibula datasets contains approximately 3000 tesserae. To evaluate the quality of the automated segmentation, four expert users manually generated ground truth segmentations of small parts of one hyomandibula. These ground truth segmentations allowed us to compare the segmentation quality w.r.t. individual tesserae. Additionally, to investigate the segmentation quality of whole skeletal elements, landmarks were manually placed on all tesserae and their positions were then compared to the segmented tesserae. With the proposed segmentation pipeline, we sped up the processing of a single skeletal element from days or weeks to a few hours.}, language = {en} } @misc{KramerNoackBaumetal.2017, author = {Kramer, Tobias and Noack, Matthias and Baum, Daniel and Hege, Hans-Christian and Heller, Eric J.}, title = {Dust and gas emission from cometary nuclei: the case of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-66338}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Comets display with decreasing solar distance an increased emission of gas and dust particles, leading to the formation of the coma and tail. Spacecraft missions provide insight in the temporal and spatial variations of the dust and gas sources located on the cometary nucleus. For the case of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G), the long-term obser- vations from the Rosetta mission point to a homogeneous dust emission across the entire illuminated surface. Despite the homogeneous initial dis- tribution, a collimation in jet-like structures becomes visible. We propose that this observation is linked directly to the complex shape of the nucleus and projects concave topographical features into the dust coma. To test this hypothesis, we put forward a gas-dust description of 67P/C-G, where gravitational and gas forces are accurately determined from the surface mesh and the rotation of the nucleus is fully incorporated. The emerging jet-like structures persist for a wide range of gas-dust interactions and show a dust velocity dependent bending.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Baum2007, author = {Baum, Daniel}, title = {A Point-Based Algorithm for Multiple 3D Surface Alignment of Drug-Sized Molecules}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:188-fudissthesis000000002759-2}, school = {Freie Universit{\"a}t Berlin}, year = {2007}, abstract = {One crucial step in virtual drug design is the identification of new lead structures with respect to a pharmacological target molecule. The search for new lead structures is often done with the help of a pharmacophore, which carries the essential structural as well as physico-chemical properties that a molecule needs to have in order to bind to the target molecule. In the absence of the target molecule, such a pharmacophore can be established by comparison of a set of active compounds. In order to identify their common features,a multiple alignment of all or most of the active compounds is necessary. Moreover, since the "outer shape" of the molecules plays a major role in the interaction between drug and target, an alignment algorithm aiming at the identification of common binding properties needs to consider the molecule's "outer shape", which can be approximated by the solvent excluded surface. In this thesis, we present a new approach to molecular surface alignment based on a discrete representation of shape as well as physico-chemical properties by points distributed on the solvent excluded surface. We propose a new method to distribute points regularly on a surface w.r.t. a smoothly varying point density given on that surface. Since the point distribution algorithm is not restricted to molecular surfaces, it might also be of interest for other applications. For the computation of pairwise surface alignments, we extend an existing point matching scheme to surface points, and we develop an efficient data structure speeding up the computation by a factor of three. Moreover, we present an approach to compute multiple alignments from pairwise alignments, which is able to handle a large number of surface points. All algorithms are evaluated on two sets of molecules: eight thermolysin inhibitors and seven HIV-1 protease inhibitors. Finally, we compare the results obtained from surface alignment with the results obtained by applying an atom alignment approach.}, language = {en} } @article{ToulkeridouGutierrezBaumetal.2021, author = {Toulkeridou, Evropi and Gutierrez, Carlos Enrique and Baum, Daniel and Doya, Kenji and Economo, Evan P.}, title = {Automated segmentation of insect anatomy from micro-CT images using deep learning}, journal = {bioRxiv}, doi = {10.1101/2021.05.29.446283}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @article{LindowBruenigDercksenetal.2021, author = {Lindow, Norbert and Br{\"u}nig, Florian and Dercksen, Vincent J. and Fabig, Gunar and Kiewisz, Robert and Redemann, Stefanie and M{\"u}ller-Reichert, Thomas and Prohaska, Steffen and Baum, Daniel}, title = {Semi-automatic stitching of filamentous structures in image stacks from serial-section electron tomography}, volume = {284}, journal = {Journal of Microscopy}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1111/jmi.13039}, pages = {25 -- 44}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We present a software-assisted workflow for the alignment and matching of filamentous structures across a three-dimensional (3D) stack of serial images. This is achieved by combining automatic methods, visual validation, and interactive correction. After the computation of an initial automatic matching, the user can continuously improve the result by interactively correcting landmarks or matches of filaments. Supported by a visual quality assessment of regions that have been already inspected, this allows a trade-off between quality and manual labor. The software tool was developed in an interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists and cell biologists to investigate cell division by quantitative 3D analysis of microtubules (MTs) in both mitotic and meiotic spindles. For this, each spindle is cut into a series of semi-thick physical sections, of which electron tomograms are acquired. The serial tomograms are then stitched and non-rigidly aligned to allow tracing and connecting of MTs across tomogram boundaries. In practice, automatic stitching alone provides only an incomplete solution, because large physical distortions and a low signal-to-noise ratio often cause experimental difficulties. To derive 3D models of spindles despite dealing with imperfect data related to sample preparation and subsequent data collection, semi-automatic validation and correction is required to remove stitching mistakes. However, due to the large number of MTs in spindles (up to 30k) and their resulting dense spatial arrangement, a naive inspection of each MT is too time-consuming. Furthermore, an interactive visualization of the full image stack is hampered by the size of the data (up to 100 GB). Here, we present a specialized, interactive, semi-automatic solution that considers all requirements for large-scale stitching of filamentous structures in serial-section image stacks. To the best of our knowledge, it is the only currently available tool which is able to process data of the type and size presented here. The key to our solution is a careful design of the visualization and interaction tools for each processing step to guarantee real-time response, and an optimized workflow that efficiently guides the user through datasets. The final solution presented here is the result of an iterative process with tight feedback loops between the involved computer scientists and cell biologists.}, language = {en} }