关键词: 中医舌诊, 舌裂纹, 局部二值模式, Otsu法

Abstract: To represent and describe the tongue crack information of tongue diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM）, it needs to segment tongue cracks from tongue image correctly and completely. But few methods can meet the requirements. In this paper, a novel method based on the combination of modified LBP （Local Binary Pattern） operator and Otsu’s threshold technique is proposed, i.e., MLBP-Ostu algorithm. The principle of classification of the traditional LBP local pattern has been redefined according to the texture features of tongue tracks. A roughness measurement factor [R] is introduced. The region with over-high or over-low [R] value will be regrouped into the meaningless subclass, and the LBP operator will not operate on the central pixel of this region. To acquire the final binary image with true cracks, the Otsu’s method is used to threshold the LBP feature image obtained by the fore step. Experiments on the several of typical tongue images show that the method proposed in this paper can achieve correct and complete segmentation of tongue cracks. In addition, it isn’t necessary to segment the tongue body part from tongue image in advance. So, it will be an effective tool for the research on the quantification of tongue diagnosis and its clinical application.

Key words: tongue diagnosis, tongue crack, local binary pattern, Otsu’s method