Lossy compression of ultraspectral images: integrating preprocessing and compression stages

In this paper we focus on lossy compression of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder images that include around 40 MB of data distributed over more than two thousand bands. We present a novel architecture that integrates both preprocessing and compression stages providing efficient lossy compression. As part of preprocessing the spectral bands are normalized and reordered such that the bands of the transformed cube are spatially segmented and scanned to generate a unidimensional signal. This signal is then modeled as an autoregressive process and subjected to linear prediction (LP) for which a valid filter order is obtained by analyzing the prediction gain of the filter. The outcomes of this procedure are LP coefficients and an error signal that, when encoded, results in a compressed version of the original image. Performance of this novel architecture is mathematically justified by means of rate-distortion analysis and compared against other well-known compression techniques.     

Lossy compression of satellite images with low impact on vegetation features

Multidimensional Systems and Signal Processing - A novel technique for lossy compression of satellite images aiming at decreasing the impact on vegetation features is presented in this paper....     

Lossy compression of volumetric medical images with 3D dead-zone lattice vector quantization

This paper presents a new lossy coding scheme based on 3D wavelet transform and lattice vector quantization for volumetric medical images. The main contribution of this work is the design of a new codebook enclosing a multidimensional dead zone during the quantization step which enables to better account correlations between neighbor voxels. Furthermore, we present an efficient rate–distortion model to simplify the bit allocation procedure for our intra-band scheme. Our algorithm has been evaluated on several CT- and MR-image volumes. At high compression ratios, we show that it can outperform the best existing methods in terms of rate–distortion trade-off. In addition, our method better preserves details and produces thus reconstructed images less blurred than the well-known 3D SPIHT algorithm which stands as a reference.     

Restoration of lossy compressed noisy images

Noise degrades the performance of any image compression algorithm. However, at very low bit rates, image coders effectively filter noise that may he present in the image, thus, enabling the coder to operate closer to the noise free case. Unfortunately, at these low bit rates the quality of the compressed image is reduced and very distinctive coding artifacts occur. This paper proposes a combined restoration of the compressed image from both the artifacts introduced by the coder along with the additive noise. The proposed approach is applied to images corrupted by data-dependent Poisson noise and to images corrupted by film-grain noise when compressed using a block transform-coder such as JPEG. This approach has proved to be effective in terms of visual quality and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) when tested on simulated and real images.     

Watermark detection for noisy interpolated images

In this brief, the case where the watermark is detected in a noisy interpolated version of the originally watermarked image is investigated. Polyphase decomposition is utilized at the detection side in order to enable the flexible formation of a fused image, which is appropriate for watermark detection. The optimal fused correlator, obtained by combining information from different image components, is derived through a statistical analysis of the correlation detector properties, followed by Lagrange optimization. It is shown that it is preferable to perform detection in a fused image rather than the original image.     

Enhancement and bandwidth compression of noisy speech

Over the past several years there has been considerable attention focused on the problem of enhancement and bandwidth compression of speech degraded by additive background noise. This interest is motivated by several factors including a broad set of important applications, the apparent lack of robustness in current speech-compression systems and the development of several potentially promising and practical solutions. One objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the variety of techniques that have been proposed for enhancement and bandwidth compression of speech degraded by additive background noise. A second objective is to suggest a unifying framework in terms of which the relationships between these systems is more visible and which hopefully provides a structure which will suggest fruitful directions for further research.     

Fuzzy operator for sharpening of noisy images

An operator is presented which is able to sharpen the details of an image, by applying fuzzy reasoning rules to the input luminance values. The particular processing rules used allow the operator to be insensitive to noise.<>     

An edge extraction technique for noisy images

We present an algorithm for extracting edges from noisy images. Our method uses an unsupervised learning approach for local threshold computation by means of Pearson's method for mixture density identification. We tested the technique by applying it to computer-generated images corrupted with artificial noise and to an actual Thallium-201 heart image and it is shown that the technique has potential use for noisy images.     

Regularization of noisy ISAR images containing extended features

We present a regularization method that employs a cross-entropy functional and which deals with the three issues of complex-valued data, prior information, and noise mitigation. The basic model of this approach is similar to that used in usual maximum a posteriori analysis and allows for a more general relationship between the image and its configuration entropy than that usually employed.     

Scene-oriented hierarchical classification of blurry and noisy images

A system for scene-oriented hierarchical classification of blurry and noisy images is proposed. It attempts to simulate important features of the human visual perception. The underlying approach is based on three strategies: extraction of essential signatures captured from a global context, simulating the global pathway; highlight detection based on local conspicuous features of the reconstructed image, simulating the local pathway; and hierarchical classification of extracted features using probabilistic techniques. The techniques involved in hierarchical classification use input from both the local and global pathways. Visual context is exploited by a combination of Gabor filtering with the principal component analysis. In parallel, a pseudo-restoration process is applied together with an affine invariant approach to improve the accuracy in the detection of local conspicuous features. Subsequently, the local conspicuous features and the global essential signature are combined and clustered by a Monte Carlo approach. Finally, clustered features are fed to a self-organizing tree algorithm to generate the final hierarchical classification results. Selected representative results of a comprehensive experimental evaluation validate the proposed system.     

Progressive transmission of images over memoryless noisy channels

An embedded source code allows the decoder to reconstruct the source progressively from the prefixes of a single bit stream. It is desirable to design joint source-channel coding schemes which retain the capability of progressive reconstruction in the presence of channel noise or packet loss. Here, we address the problem of joint source-channel coding of images for progressive transmission over memoryless bit error or packet erasure channels. We develop a framework for encoding based on embedded source codes and embedded error correcting and error detecting channel codes. For a target transmission rate, we provide solutions and an algorithm for the design of optimal unequal error/erasure protection. Three performance measures are considered: the average distortion, the average peak signal-to-noise ratio, and the average useful source coding rate. Under the assumption of rate compatibility of the underlying channel codes, we provide necessary conditions for progressive transmission of joint source-channel codes. We also show that the unequal error/erasure protection policies that maximize the average useful source coding rate allow progressive transmission with optimal unequal protection at a number of intermediate rates     

Robust model-based vasculature detection in noisy biomedical images

This paper presents a set of algorithms for robust detection of vasculature in noisy retinal video images. Three methods are studied for effective handling of outliers. The first method is based on Huber's censored likelihood ratio test. The second is based on the use of a alpha-trimmed test statistic. The third is based on robust model selection algorithms. All of these algorithms rely on a mathematical model for the vasculature that accounts for the expected variations in intensity/texture profile, width, orientation, scale, and imaging noise. These unknown parameters are estimated implicitly within a robust detection and estimation framework. The proposed algorithms are also useful as nonlinear vessel enhancement filters. The proposed algorithms were evaluated over carefully constructed phantom images, where the ground truth is known a priori, as well as clinically recorded images for which the ground truth was manually compiled. A comparative evaluation of the proposed approaches is presented. Collectively, these methods outperformed prior approaches based on Chaudhuri et al. (1989) matched filtering, as well as the verification methods used by prior exploratory tracing algorithms, such as the work of Can et aL (1999). The Huber censored likelihood test yielded the best overall improvement, with a 145.7% improvement over the exploratory tracing algorithm, and a 43.7% improvement in detection rates over the matched filter.     

An adaptive filter for smoothing noisy radar images

Radar images are corrupted by multiplicative noise due to fading. This paper presents an algorithm for smoothing noisy radar images. The algorithm is easily implemented in the spatial domain and is computationally very efficient. By adapting the filter parameters to local statistics, it is shown that the filter preserves edges.     

一种改进含噪多聚焦图像融合方法

针对目前多聚焦图像融合方法处理含噪图像缺乏有 效性而导致融合效果较差的问题,提出一种引导滤波结合脉冲耦合神经网络(PCNN)的非下采 样Shearlet变换(NSST)域内多聚焦图像融合方法。 首先,分别对待融合多聚焦图像进行NSST获取其相应高频子带和低频子带系数;对高 频子带系数,通过引导滤波结合改进简化PCNN模型设置融合规则;提取相位一致性、清晰 度和亮度等底层视觉特性,指导低频子带系数融合权重;最后反NSST获取最终融合结 果。实验结果表明,本文方法能够在噪声干扰情况下有效完成多聚焦融合,并且边缘和纹理 信息保持较好,当20标准差噪声时互信息提升了近0.15具有有效性。     

Edge detection in noisy images by neuro-fuzzy processing

A novel neuro-fuzzy (NF) operator for edge detection in digital images corrupted by impulse noise is presented. The proposed operator is constructed by combining a desired number of NF subdetectors with a postprocessor. Each NF subdetector in the structure evaluates a different pixel neighborhood relation. Hence, the number of NF subdetectors in the structure may be varied to obtain the desired edge detection performance. Internal parameters of the NF subdetectors are adaptively optimized by training by using simple artificial training images. The performance of the proposed edge detector is evaluated on different test images and compared with popular edge detectors from the literature. Simulation results indicate that the proposed NF operator outperforms competing edge detectors and offers superior performance in edge detection in digital images corrupted by impulse noise.     

Watershed identification of polygonal patterns in noisy SAR images

The paper describes a new approach to pattern recognition in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. A visual analysis of the images provided by NASA's Magellan mission to Venus has revealed a number of zones showing polygonal-shaped faults on the surface of the planet. The goal of the paper is to provide a method to automate the identification of such zones. The high level of noise in SAR images and its multiplicative nature make automated image analysis difficult and conventional edge detectors, like those based on gradient images, inefficient. We present a scheme based on an improved watershed algorithm and a two-scale analysis. The method extracts potential edges in the SAR image, analyzes the patterns obtained, and decides whether or not the image contains a "polygon area". This scheme can also be applied to other SAR or visual images, for instance in observation of Mars and Jupiter's satellite Europa.     

Lossless compression of continuous-tone images

In this paper, we survey some of the recent advances in lossless compression of continuous-tone images. The modeling paradigms underlying the state-of-the-art algorithms, and the principles guiding their design, are discussed in a unified manner. The algorithms are described and experimentally compared     

Reversible compression of MR images

Methods for reversible coding can be classified according to the organization of the source model as either static, semi-adaptive, or adaptive. Magnetic resonance (MR) images have different statistical characteristics in the foreground and the background and separation is thus a promising path for reversible MR image compression. A new reversible compression method, based on static source models for foreground and background separately, is presented. The method is nonuniversal and uses contextual information to exploit the fact that entropy and bit rate are reduced by increasing the statistical order of the model. This paper establishes a realistic level of expectation regarding the bit rate in reversible MR image compression, in general, and the bit rate using static modeling, in particular. The experimental results show that compression using the new method can give bit rates comparable to the best existing reversible methods.     

Lossless compression of AVIRIS images

Adaptive DPCM methods using linear prediction are described for the lossless compression of hyperspectral (224-band) images recorded by the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). The methods have two stages-predictive decorrelation (which produces residuals) and residual encoding. Good predictors are described, whose performance closely approaches limits imposed by sensor noise. It is imperative that these predictors make use of the high spectral correlations between bands. The residuals are encoded using variable-length coding (VLC) methods, and compression is improved by using eight codebooks whose design depends on the sensor's noise characteristics. Rice (1979) coding has also been evaluated; it loses 0.02-0.05 b/pixel compression compared with better VLC methods but is much simpler and faster. Results for compressing ten AVIRIS images are reported.