Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation

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Topology-preserving image segmentation aims to recover not only which pixels belong to an object, but also its structural organization, such as connected vessel branches or intact road networks. Common approaches add skeleton, centerline, Betti-number, or persistent-homology objectives to neural networks, encode structure with graphs or geometric priors, and sometimes repair connectivity after prediction. Work spans retinal and coronary vessels, roads, cracks, and 3D anatomical structures, using measures such as clDice, Betti error, and connectivity scores alongside Dice and IoU. A central tension is improving structural correctness without sacrificing boundary or region accuracy, adding excessive computation, or introducing false connections—especially under domain shift and sparse annotation.

Latest papers

43 papers6 papers in the last four weeks, level with the four weeks before. 0.0% of all new papers.

FPG-Seg: Annotation-free Retinal Vessel Topology Segmentation
Oct 15, 2026James Willoughby, Irina VoiculescuRetinal Vessel Segmentation Unsupervised Image Segmentation
University of Oxford, Department of Computer Science
TRACE: Topology-Aware Reconnection via Prediction-Adaptive Connectivity Enforcement for Thin-Structure Segmentation
Oct 15, 2026Junho Moon, Ikbeom JangThin-Structure Segmentation Image Segmentation
Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea · Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin, Republic of Korea
Skeleton-Guided Progressive Test-Time Adaptation for Thin Curvilinear Structures
Oct 8, 2026Boa Jang, JunGyu Lee, Gwanho Lee +2Image Segmentation Test-Time Adaptation
Seoul National University · Seoul National University Hospital · Yonsei University +1
Topology-Informed Prompt-Conditioned Universal Segmentation of Uterine Structures from Ultrasound and MRI
Oct 5, 2026Yongheng Sun, Yuexi Gu, Jingwen Sun +2Ultrasound Image Segmentation Cross-Modality Medical Image Segmentation
Department of Radiology and BRIC, UNC at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Preserving Anatomical Continuity: Three-Stage Pipeline for Colon Segmentation in 3D Abdominal CT Scans
Oct 2, 2026Deshan Kalupahana, Sonit Singh, Praveen Ravindran +13D Medical Image Segmentation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia · Sydney Adventist Hospital, Wahroonga, Australia
Sparse cubical complexes for efficient topology-preservation in image data
Sep 29, 2026Alexander H. Berger, Marco Fontana, Daniel Rueckert +3Image Segmentation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, USA · Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany · Department of Computing, Imperial College London, UK +3
Mind the Gap: Mesh-Guided Repair of Broken Vessels
Sep 24, 2026Gniewosz Drwiega, Wojciech Szymanski, Marek WodzinskiTopology-Preserving Image Segmentation Medical Image Segmentation
Sano – Centre for Computational Personalised Medicine International Research Foundation, Krakow, Poland · AGH University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland
Beyond Volume Overlap: Surface Matching for Topology-Aware Coronary Artery Segmentation
Sep 22, 2026Rafael Velasquez, Esther Puyol-Antón, Pablo ArbeláezCoronary Artery Segmentation Boundary-Aware Segmentation
Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia · School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK
BSC-Net: A Small-Branch-Sensitive Structural Continuity Network for Coronary Vessel Segmentation and Quantitative Angiographic Analysis
Sep 14, 2026Wanxian Li, Jiaqian Qin, Qingyi Xian +4Coronary Angiography Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China. · Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China · Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Topology-Aware Training and Spatial Diagnostics for Fiber Bundle Segmentation in Tracer Histology
Sep 3, 2026Joselyn Romero Avila, Kyriaki-Margarita Bintsi, Ermias Habte +3Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru · Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States · Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, United States +1
UI-VISA: U-Net Initialized Vascular Image Segmentation Architecture
Sep 1, 2026Asees Kaur, Suzanne S. Sindi, Erica M. RutterU-Net Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
University of California, Merced
TopoFuse: Topology-Aware Tri-Planar Fusion for 3D Cryo-Electron Tomography Segmentation
Aug 31, 2026Rohit Kumar Salla, Neelesh Gupta, Xingjian Li +1Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation Image Segmentation
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA · National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, India · Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
NeuroRefiner: Morphology-Aware Multi-Agent Refinement for 3D Fluorescence Microscopy Neuron Segmentation
Aug 10, 2026Haiyang Yan, Jinyue Guo, Yanchao Zhang +6Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation Fluorescence Microscopy
State Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences · School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences · School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences +1
Topology-Aware Parameter-Efficient Adaptation for Cross-Dataset Retinal Vessel Segmentation
Aug 10, 2026Yongsong Huang, Tomo Miyazaki, Kai Xu +3Retinal Vessel Segmentation Domain Adaptation
Tohoku University · Yale University
STC-Net: Electroluminescence-Based Solar Cell Crack Segmentation for Power Loss Estimation
Aug 3, 2026Shanaka Ramesh Gunasekara, Akila Eranda Devanarayana, Imasha Guruge +2Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation Boundary-Aware Segmentation
RMIT University Melbourne, Australia · University of Jaffna Jaffna, Sri Lanka · Clean Energy Council Melbourne, Australia
Same Branches, Different Trees: A Bifurcation Connectedness Metric for Coronary Artery Segmentation and FFR-CT Decision Agreement
Jul 30, 2026Maame Owusu-Ansah, Kelvin Lee, Dr Vinod Venugopal +3Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation Medical Image Segmentation
Applied Vision & Artificial Intelligence Lab, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, United Kingdom · Lincolnshire Heart Centre, United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals Trust, Lincoln, United Kingdom · School of Computer Science & Informatics, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, United Kingdom
Widest-Path Reachability Fields for Connectivity-Preserving Slender Structure Segmentation
Jul 8, 2026Youcheng Zong, Runda Jia, Minxuan Hu +2Image Segmentation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
College of Information Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, China · Changsha Stomatological Hospital, Changsha 410005, China
MorVess: Morphology-Aware Pulmonary Vessel Segmentation Network
Jun 23, 2026Fuyou Mao, Yifei Chen, Beining Wu +9Vision Foundation Model Adaptation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
Central South University, 410083 Changsha, China · Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China · Hangzhou Dianzi University, 310018 Hangzhou, China +1
From Reconstruction to Decision: A Post-Encoder Plug-in Adapter for Curvilinear Segmentation
Jun 22, 2026Qin Lei, Jiang Zhong, Xin Xiao +2Image Segmentation Thin-Structure Segmentation
Center for Big Data and Intelligent Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China · College of Computer Science, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China · Key Laboratory of Digital Health and Intelligent Medicine, Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, Chongqing, China +1
SEMIR: Topology-Preserving Graph Minors for Thin-Structure Segmentation
Jun 22, 2026Luke James Miller, Yugyung LeeImage Segmentation Thin-Structure Segmentation
University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City MO 64110, USA
Multi-Task Crack Foundation Model for Engineering-Reliable Crack Representation and Topology Preservation in Civil Infrastructure
Jun 4, 2026Blessing Agyei Kyem, Joshua Kofi Asamoah, Eugene Denteh +1Vision Foundation Model Adaptation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, 58102, ND, USA
RoadGIE: Towards A Global-Scale Aerial Benchmark for Generalizable Interactive Road Extraction
May 26, 2026Chenxu Peng, Chenxu Wang, Yimian Dai +3Image Segmentation Remote Sensing Image Segmentation
NKIARI, Shenzhen Futian · VCIP, CS, Nankai University · AAIS, Nankai University +1
SEMIR: Semantic Minor-Induced Representation Learning on Graphs for Visual Segmentation
May 12, 2026Luke James Miller, Yugyung LeeGraph Structure Learning Image Segmentation
Department of Computing, Analytics and Mathematics; University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, United States.
Topology-Constrained Quantized nnUNet for Efficient and Anatomically Accurate 3D Tooth Segmentation
May 5, 2026Paarth Prasad, Ruchika MalhotraQuantization-Aware Training Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
Department of Software Engineering, Delhi Technological University
Continuous-tone Simple Points: An $\ell_0$ -Norm of Cyclic Gradient for Topology-Preserving Data-Driven Image Segmentation
Apr 30, 2026Wenxiao Li, Faqiang Wang, Yuping Duan +3Image Segmentation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
Laboratory of Mathematics and Complex Systems (Ministry of Education), School of Mathematical Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China · State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China
A Topology fixated Shape Gradient Framework for Non Simple Boundary Extraction for CIE Lab color images with Repulsive Energy
Apr 25, 2026Shafeequdheen Palengara, Jyotiranjan Nayak, Vijayakrishna RowthuImage Segmentation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
Tessellab, Department of Mathematics, SRM University-AP, India
Nested Radially Monotone Polar Occupancy Estimation: Clinically-Grounded Optic Disc and Cup Segmentation for Glaucoma Screening
Apr 10, 2026Rimsa Goperma, Rojan Basnet, Liang ZhaoOptic Disc Segmentation Glaucoma Detection
Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8306, Japan
CardioSAM: Topology-Aware Decoder Design for High-Precision Cardiac MRI Segmentation
Mar 31, 2026Ujjwal JainMedical Image Segmentation Medical Image Analysis
ABV-IIITM Gwalior, India
Bridging the Geometry Mismatch: Frequency-Aware Anisotropic Serialization for Thin-Structure SSMs
Mar 30, 2026Jin Bai, Huiyao Zhang, Qi Wen +4Thin-Structure Segmentation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences · Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences · University of Peshawar, Pakistan +1
NeuroSeg Meets DINOv3: Transferring 2D Self-Supervised Visual Priors to 3D Neuron Segmentation via DINOv3 Initialization
Mar 24, 2026Yik San Cheng, Runkai Zhao, Weidong Cai3D Medical Image Segmentation Neuroimaging
The University of Sydney

Oct 15, 2026J/K move · Enter open · S save

FPG-Seg: Annotation-free Retinal Vessel Topology Segmentation

James Willoughby, Irina Voiculescu

University of Oxford, Department of Computer Science

Retinal Vessel Segmentation Unsupervised Image Segmentation Topology-Preserving Image Segmentation

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State-of-the art approaches to retinal vessel segmentation typically require extensive annotations, a highly time-consuming process, reliant on clinical expertise. We present FPG-Seg, an annotation-free pipeline for retinal vessel segmentation combining classical vesselness filtering, Bayesian deep learning and topology-aware graph reconstruction to segment retinal vessel topology without manual labels. Tested across four widely used benchmark datasets for retinal vessel segmentation, FPG-Seg attains a clDice of

0.74{-}0.78

, representing

86{-}98\%

of the performance of an equivalent fully-supervised baseline, despite using no manual annotations for training or hyperparameter tuning. As part of this work, we also provide, to our knowledge, the first performance benchmark of an annotation-free vessel segmentation method on FIVES.