用物理方程约束神经网络,提升显微图像分割的准确性和泛化能力。
PDE-Constrained Optimization for Neural Image Segmentation with Physics Priors
- 将反应-扩散方程和相场能量作为可微分损失项,融入分割模型
- 在LIVECell数据集上,边界精度和整体分割性能均优于无约束模型
- 适合样本少、边界模糊的生物图像分割任务,尤其对低数据场景有效
显微图像分割因测量噪声、弱目标边界和标注数据有限而成为不适定逆问题。尽管深度神经网络具有灵活的非参数估计能力,但未经约束的最小化经验风险常导致解不稳定、泛化差。本文将图像分割建模为偏微分方程(PDE)约束优化问题,通过变分正则化将物理先验引入深度学习模型。所提框架最小化包含数据保真项与由反应-扩散方程及相场界面能导出的惩罚项组成的复合目标函数,所有项均以可微分残差损失实现。实验基于高质量手动标注的LIVECell数据集,在两种细胞类型上训练,于另一种未见细胞类型上评估泛化能力。以UNet作为无约束基线模型。结果表明,相比传统深度学习方法,该方法在分割准确率和边界保真度上均有显著提升;且在小样本条件下表现出更强的稳定性和泛化能力,凸显结构化先验的优势。该方法展示了如何通过PDE约束优化增强数据驱动学习框架,为变分方法、统计学习与科学机器学习提供理论衔接。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Segmentation of microscopy images constitutes an ill-posed inverse problem due to measurement noise, weak object boundaries, and limited labeled data. Although deep neural networks provide flexible nonparametric estimators, unconstrained empirical risk minimization often leads to unstable solutions and poor generalization. In this work, image segmentation is formulated as a PDE-constrained optimization problem that integrates physically motivated priors into deep learning models through variational regularization. The proposed framework minimizes a composite objective function consisting of a data fidelity term and penalty terms derived from reaction-diffusion equations and phase-field interface energies, all implemented as differentiable residual losses. Experiments are conducted on the LIVECell dataset, a high-quality, manually annotated collection of phase-contrast microscopy images. Training is performed on two cell types, while evaluation is carried out on a distinct, unseen cell type to assess generalization. A UNet architecture is used as the unconstrained baseline model. Experimental results demonstrate consistent improvements in segmentation accuracy and boundary fidelity compared to unconstrained deep learning baselines. Moreover, the PDE-regularized models exhibit enhanced stability and improved generalization in low-sample regimes, highlighting the advantages of incorporating structured priors. The proposed approach illustrates how PDE-constrained optimization can strengthen data-driven learning frameworks, providing a principled bridge between variational methods, statistical learning, and scientific machine learning.
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