Statistical analysis of locally parameterized shapes

The alignment of shapes has been a crucial step in statistical shape analysis, for example, in calculating mean shape, detecting locational differences between two shape populations, and classification. Procrustes alignment is the most commonly used method and state of the art. In this work, we uncover that alignment might seriously affect the statistical analysis. For example, alignment can induce false shape differences and lead to misleading results and interpretations. We propose a novel hierarchical shape parameterization based on local coordinate systems. The local parameterized shapes are translation and rotation invariant. Thus, the inherent alignment problems from the commonly used global coordinate system for shape representation can be avoided using this parameterization. The new parameterization is also superior for shape deformation and simulation. The method's power is demonstrated on the hypothesis testing of simulated data as well as the left hippocampi of patients with Parkinson's disease and controls.