Using the quantization error from Self-Organized Map (SOM) output for detecting critical variability in large bodies of image time series in less than a minute

The quantization error (QE) from SOM applied on time series of spatial contrast images with variable relative amount of white and dark pixel contents, as in monochromatic medical images or satellite images, is proven a reliable indicator of potentially critical changes in image homogeneity. The QE is shown to increase linearly with the variability in spatial contrast contents across time when contrast intensity is kept constant.