Composition of Image Analysis Processes Through Object-Centered Hierarchical Planning

This paper presents a new approach to the knowledge-based composition of processes for image interpretation and analysis. Its computer implementation in the VISIPLAN (VISIon PLANner) system provides a way of modeling the composition of image analysis processes within a unified, object-centered hierarchical planning framework. The approach has been tested and shown to be flexible in handling a reasonably broad class of multi-modality biomedical image analysis and interpretation problems. It provides a relatively general design or planning framework, within which problem-specific image analysis and recognition processes can be generated more efficiently and effectively. In this way, generality is gained at the design and planning stages, even though the final implementation stage of interpretation processes is almost invariably problem-and domain-specific.