  Curve evolution schemes for image segmentation based on a region based
contour model allowing for junctions, vector-valued images and topology changes
are introduced. Together with an a posteriori denoising in the segmented
homogeneous regions this leads to a fast and efficient method for image
segmentation and restoration. An uneven spread of mesh points is avoided by
using the tangential degrees of freedom. Several numerical simulations on
artificial test problems and on real images illustrate the performance of the
method.
