Focus fusion methods combine a set of images focused at different depths into a single image where all parts are in focus. The quality of the fusion result strongly depends on a decision map that determines the in-focus areas. Most approaches in the literature achieve this by local decisions without explicitly enforcing smoothness of the depth map. The goal of our paper is to introduce a modern...

Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) using cages in conjunction with pedicle screw fixation is considered the gold standard for surgical treatment of degenerative lumbar spine disorders due to its biomechanical stability and high fusion rate. However, research regarding patterns of fusion in the interbody space during the early postoperative period is lacking.Sixty consecutive patients were...

This paper addresses the proposal that the number of processed air tracks of a two-tier fusion process can be increased by applying a balanced fusion tree which can balance tracks across local fusion nodes. Every fusion cycle, a fusion process combines duplicate tracks from multiple radars and creates a single integrated air picture (SIAP). The two-tier fusion process divides the fusion process...

a novel hybrid multifocus image fusion method. First, the source multifocus images are decomposed using the nonsubsampled contourlet transform (NSCT). The low-frequency sub-band coefficients are fused by the sum-modified-Laplacian-based local visual contrast, whereas the high-frequency sub-band coefficients are fused by the local Log-Gabor energy. The initial fused image is subsequently reconst...

Tissue fusion eliminates physical voids in a tissue to form a continuous structure and is central to many processes in development and repair. Fusion events in vivo, particularly in embryonic development, often involve the purse-string contraction of a pluricellular actomyosin cable at the free edge. However, in vitro, adhesion of the cells to their substrate favors a closure mechanism mediated...

The theory of distributed detection is receiving a lot of attention. A common assumption used in previous studies is the conditional independence of the observations. In this paper, the optimization of local decision rules for distributed detection networks with correlated observations is considered. We focus on presenting the detection theory for parallel distributed detection networks with fi...