Multiplicative noise removal via adaptive learned dictionaries and TV regularization

Multiplicative noise removal is a key issue in image processing problem. While a large amount of literature on this subject are total variation (TV)-based and wavelet-based methods, recently sparse representation of images has shown to be efficient approach for image restoration. TV regularization is efficient to restore cartoon images while dictionaries are well adapted to textures and some tricky structures. Following this idea, in this paper, we propose an approach that combines the advantages of sparse representation over dictionary learning and TV regularization method. The method is proposed to solve multiplicative noise removal problem by minimizing the energy functional, which is composed of the data-fidelity term, a sparse representation prior over adaptive learned dictionaries, and TV regularization term. The optimization problem can be efficiently solved by the split Bregman algorithm. Experimental results validate that the proposed model has a superior performance than many recent methods, in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio, mean absolute-deviation error, mean structure similarity, and subjective visual quality.     

Super-resolution image reconstruction techniques: Trade-offs between the data-fidelity and regularization terms

Stochastic regularized methods are quite advantageous in super-resolution (SR) image reconstruction problems. In the particular techniques, the SR problem is formulated by means of two terms, the data-fidelity term and the regularization term. The present work examines the effect of each one of these terms on the SR reconstruction result with respect to the presence or absence of noise in the low-resolution (LR) frames. Experimentation is carried out with the widely employed L₂, L₁, Huber and Lorentzian estimators for the data-fidelity term. The Tikhonov and Bilateral (B) Total Variation (TV) techniques are employed for the regularization term. The extracted conclusions can, in practice, help to select an effective SR method for a given sequence of LR frames. Thus, in case that the potential methods present common data-fidelity or regularization term, and frames are noiseless, the method which employs the most robust regularization or data-fidelity term should be used. Otherwise, experimental conclusions regarding performance ranking vary with the presence of noise in frames, the noise model as well as the difference in robustness of efficiency between the rival terms. Estimators employed for the data-fidelity term or regularizations stand for the rival terms.     

Multiplicative noise removal via combining total variation and wavelet frame

Total variation (TV) regularization has been proved effective for cartoon images restoration however it produces staircase effects, and properly wavelet frames were confirmed to provide a more smoothing approximation to the original image. In this paper, a new model for multiplicative noise removal was proposed, which combines wavelet frame-based regularization and TV regularization. A modified proximal linearized alternating direction method is developed to solve the proposed model, considering that adding a new regularization term to the TV model would yield more parameters, which will result in computational difficulties. For the new model, the existence of solution and the convergence property of the proposed algorithm are proved. Numerical experiments have proved that the proposed model has a superior performance in terms of the peak signal-to-noise ratio and the relative error values for non-piecewise constant images when compared with some state-of-the-art multiplicative noise removal models.     

A Variational Approach to Remove Outliers and Impulse Noise

We consider signal and image restoration using convex cost-functions composed of a non-smooth data-fidelity term and a smooth regularization term. We provide a convergent method to minimize such cost-functions. In order to restore data corrupted with outliers and impulsive noise, we focus on cost-functions composed of an ?₁ data-fidelity term and an edge-preserving regularization term. The analysis of the minimizers of these cost-functions provides a natural justification of the method. It is shown that, because of the ?₁ data-fidelity, these minimizers involve an implicit detection of outliers. Uncorrupted (regular) data entries are fitted exactly while outliers are replaced by estimates determined by the regularization term, independently of the exact value of the outliers. The resultant method is accurate and stable, as demonstrated by the experiments. A crucial advantage over alternative filtering methods is the possibility to convey adequate priors about the restored signals and images, such as the presence of edges. Our variational method furnishes a new framework for the processing of data corrupted with outliers and different kinds of impulse noise.     

A Variational Framework for Region-Based Segmentation Incorporating Physical Noise Models

Image segmentation is one of the fundamental problems in computer vision and image processing. In the recent years mathematical models based on partial differential equations and variational methods have led to superior results in many applications, e.g., medical imaging. A majority of works on image segmentation implicitly assume the given image to be biased by additive Gaussian noise, for instance the popular Mumford-Shah model. Since this assumption is not suitable for a variety of problems, we propose a region-based variational segmentation framework to segment also images with non-Gaussian noise models. Motivated by applications in biomedical imaging, we discuss the cases of Poisson and multiplicative speckle noise intensively. Analytical results such as the existence of a solution are verified and we investigate the use of different regularization functionals to provide a-priori information regarding the expected solution. The performance of the proposed framework is illustrated by experimental results on synthetic and real data.     

Texture image prior for SAR image super resolution based on total variation regularization using split Bregman iteration

In this article, we propose a total variation (TV) regularization approach for the reconstruction of super-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image based on gradient profile prior or other texture image prior in the maximum a posteriori framework. We also design a novel super-resolution reconstruction algorithm via split Bregman iteration with the known degradation matrix, thereby enhancing the resolution of the SAR image. The parameter adaptation of the TV regularization is performed based on the high-resolution (HR) SAR image at each step. Several evaluation indices are tested on SAR images for objective assessment of the performance of SAR image super-resolution reconstruction. This computationally efficient algorithm is robust to noise in SAR scenes in HR image estimation. Experimental results show that the proposed split Bregman super-resolution approach can effectively avoid the speckle noise generated due to some strange textures and has good effect of noise suppression, while effectively maintaining the SAR image content, the structure of the SAR image is more apparent. Additionally, the experimental results on real SAR scenes also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and demonstrate its superiority to other super-resolution algorithms.     

一种基于小波域隐马尔可夫模型的SAR相干斑抑制算法

相干斑噪声是SAR图像的固有特点。对相干斑抑制的要求是在平滑噪声的同时，尽量保持原始图像的结构信息。现有的许多相干斑抑制方法各有优点和不足，没有普遍的适用性。基于图像在小波域的隐马尔可夫模型(HMMs)结构，结合SAR图像中相干斑噪声的统计特性，本文提出了一种新的小波域相干斑抑制方法。仿真及实测数据处理结果表明，该方法在有效抑制相干斑的同时，更好地保持了边缘结构。与小波域软阈值去噪方法和Lee滤波器相比较，该方法在噪声平滑及边缘保持上都取得了较大的改进，并得到了较好的视觉效果。     

结合自适应核回归和全变差的乘性噪声去除

为了更好地去除图像中的乘性噪声,提出一个新的三阶段乘性噪声去除算法。第一阶段在图像的对数域用自适应的掌舵核回归(SKR)对图像进行去噪处理;第二阶段用全变差(TV)方法对第一阶段处理的结果进行补充处理;第三阶段通过指数变换和误差纠偏,把图像变回到真实的图像域。新方法具有掌舵核回归与全变差两种方法的优点,实验结果证明了其去除乘性噪声的有效性。     

去除乘性噪声的重加权各向异性全变差模型

恢复含乘性噪声的图像是当前图像处理的重要研究课题. 本文提出基于迭代重加权的各向异性全变差(Total variation, TV)模型. 新模型中, 假定乘性噪声服从Gamma分布. 正则项采用加权的各向异性全变差, 其中, 自适应权函数由期望最大(Expectation maximization, EM)算法得到. 新模型在有效去噪的同时, 较好地保留了图像的边缘和细节信息, 同时能够有效地抑制"阶梯效应". 数值实验验证了新模型的效果.     

Multiregion level-set partitioning of synthetic aperture radar images

The purpose of this study is to investigate synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image segmentation into a given but arbitrary number of gamma homogeneous regions via active contours and level sets. The segmentation of SAR images is a difficult problem due to the presence of speckle which can be modeled as strong, multiplicative noise. The proposed algorithm consists of evolving simple closed planar curves within an explicit correspondence between the interiors of curves and regions of segmentation to minimize a criterion containing a term of conformity of data to a speckle model of noise and a term of regularization. Results are shown on both synthetic and real images.     

Ultrasound image restoration based on a learned dictionary and a higher-order MRF

The restoration of images degraded by blur and multiplicative noise is a critical preprocessing step in medical ultrasound images which exhibit clinical diagnostic features of interest. This paper proposes a novel non-smooth non-convex variational model for ultrasound images denoising and deblurring motivated by the successes of sparse representation of images and FoE based approaches. Dictionaries are well adapted to textures and extended to arbitrary image sizes by defining a global image prior, while FoE image prior explicitly characterizes the statistics properties of natural image. Following these ideas, the new model is composed of the data-fidelity term, the sparse and redundant representations via learned dictionaries, and the FoE image prior model. The iPiano algorithm can efficiently deal with this optimization problem. The new proposed model is applied to several simulated images and real ultrasound images. The experimental results of denoising and deblurring show that proposed method gives a better visual effect by efficiently removing noise and preserving details well compared with two state-of-the-art methods.     

侧扫声呐图像的3维块匹配降斑方法

斑点噪声是影响侧扫声呐图像质量的主要因素,降斑处理对侧扫声呐图像的判别与分析非常重要。针对侧扫声呐图像自身特性和斑点噪声分布特点,提出一种基于3维块匹配(BM3D)的降斑方法。根据海底散射模型,得到侧扫声呐图像斑点噪声的瑞利分布模型,然后通过高斯光滑函数幂变换将瑞利分布的噪声转化为高斯分布,通过对数变换将乘性噪声转变为加性噪声,再进行自适应的BM3D滤波,最后采用逆变换得到降斑图像。实验结果表明,该方法在降噪、边缘和纹理保持等方面均优于空间域、小波域、Curvelet域的一些降斑方法。     

Multiplicative Noise Removal Using L1 Fidelity on Frame Coefficients

We address the denoising of images contaminated with multiplicative noise, e.g. speckle noise. Classical ways to solve such problems are filtering, statistical (Bayesian) methods, variational methods, and methods that convert the multiplicative noise into additive noise (using a logarithmic function), apply a variational method on the log data or shrink their coefficients in a frame (e.g. a wavelet basis), and transform back the result using an exponential function.     

改进的基于非局部均值的极化SAR相干斑抑制

贝叶斯形式的非局部均值模型在极化SAR图像相干斑抑制中有良好的应用,在实现抑制相干斑的同时较好地保持了边缘细节和点目标.通过分析合成孔径雷达(SAR)图像多视数据的空间统计分布,结合贝叶斯形式的非局部均值模型,得出在该模型下多视与单视SAR图像中像素间相似性度量函数一致性的结论,并对该相似性度量函数进行了修正,使之满足对称性;最后针对算法全局使用一个固定滤波参数影响滤波效果的问题,提出一种根据像素间相似程度自适应选取滤波参数的方法.实验结果验证了本文算法的有效性.     

Multiplicative noise removal combining a total variation regularizer and a nonconvex regularizer

A novel variational model for removing multiplicative noise is proposed in this paper. In the model, a novel regularization term is elaborately designed which is inherently equivalent to a combination of the classical total variation regularizer and a nonconvex regularizer. The proposed regularization term, on the one hand, can better remove the noise in homogeneous regions of a noisy image and, on the other hand, can preserve edge details of the image during the denoising process. In order to solve the model efficiently, we design an alternating iteration process in which two coupling minimization problems are solved. For each of the two minimization problems, the existence and uniqueness of their solutions are proved under some necessary assumptions. Numerical results are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed regularization term for multiplicative noise removal.     

一种改进的基于非局部均值的极化SAR相干斑抑制算法

贝叶斯形式的非局部均值模型在极化SAR图像相干斑抑制中有良好的应用,在实现抑制相干斑的同时较地保持了边缘细节和点目标。本文通过分析SAR图像多视数据的空间统计分布,结合贝叶斯形式的非局部均值模型,得出了在该模型下多视与单视SAR图像中像素间相似性度量函数一致性的结论,并对该相似性度量函数进行了修正,使之满足对称性;最后针对算法全局使用一个固定滤波参数影响滤波效果的问题,提出了一种根据像素间相似程度自适应选取滤波参数的方法。实验结果验证了本文算法的有效性。     

基于偏微分方程的变分去噪模型

针对现有去除图像乘性噪声的变分模型的保真项中存在病态条件的问题,结合全变分方法和对数变换的相关理论对保真项进行分析,提出一种新的基于偏微分方程(PDE)的去除图像乘性噪声的变分模型,导出了该模型对应的偏微分方程初边值问题,并给出了相应的数值计算方法。从数值实验结果可以看出,所提模型的均方误差(MSE)明显下降,峰值信噪比(PSNR)明显提升,同时很好地避免了模型的病态情形,对去除图像乘性噪声的变分模型中保真项存在的病态条件提供了很好的解决办法,减小了离散化过程中可能存在的误差。数值实验结果表明,所提模型具有良好的去噪效果,能够较好地抑制图像中的“阶梯效应”现象。     

Histogram-Based Optical Flow for Motion Estimation in Ultrasound Imaging

Motion estimation on ultrasound data is often referred to as ‘Speckle Tracking’ in clinical environments and plays an important role in diagnosis and monitoring of cardiovascular diseases and the identification of abnormal cardiac motion. The impact of physical effects in the process of data acquisition raises many problems for conventional image processing techniques. The most significant difference to other medical data is its high level of speckle noise, which has completely different characteristics from other noise models, e.g., additive Gaussian noise. In this paper we address the problem of multiplicative speckle noise for motion estimation techniques that are based on optical flow methods and prove that the influence of this noise leads to wrong correspondences between image regions if not taken into account. To overcome these problems we propose the use of local statistics and introduce an optical flow method which uses histograms as discrete representations of local statistics for motion analysis. We show that this approach is more robust under the presence of speckle noise than classical optical flow methods.     

基于贝叶斯非局部平均滤波的超声图像斑点噪声抑制算法

超声成像是现代医学影像学最重要的诊断技术之一。然而,由于乘性斑点噪声的存在,使得超声成像的发展受到了一定的限制。针对这种问题,提出了一种贝叶斯非局部平均（NLM）滤波算法的改进策略。首先,运用贝叶斯公式推导出适应于超声图像斑点噪声模型的非局部平均滤波器,由此引出了两种图像块之间距离计算的方式——Pearson距离和根距离;其次,为了减轻计算负担,在非局部区域中选取相似图像块时采用图像块预选择的方式来加速算法;另外,根据多次实验,总结出了一种滤波参数和噪声方差的关系,实现了参数的自适应;最后,利用Visual Studio和OpenCV实现了算法,使得程序的运行时间大幅缩短。为了评估所提算法的去噪性能,在幻影图像和真实超声图像上进行了实验,结果表明：与现有的一些经典算法相比,该算法在去除斑点噪声的表现上有很大提升,并且在保留图像边缘和结构细节方面取得了令人满意的结果。     

Low-rank tensor completion with fractional-Jacobian-extended tensor regularization for multi-component visual data inpainting

Several low-rank tensor completion methods have been integrated with total variation (TV) regularization to retain edge information and promote piecewise smoothness. In this paper, we first construct a fractional Jacobian matrix to nonlocally couple the structural correlations across components and propose a fractional-Jacobian-extended tensor regularization model, whose energy functional was designed proportional to the mixed norm of the fractional Jacobian matrix. Consistent regularization could thereby be performed on each component, avoiding band-by-band TV regularization and enabling effective handling of the contaminated fine-grained and complex details due to the introduction of a fractional differential. Since the proposed spatial regularization is linear convex, we further produced a novel fractional generalization of the classical primal-dual resolvent to develop its solver efficiently. We then combined the proposed tensor regularization model with low-rank constraints for tensor completion and addressed the problem by employing the augmented Lagrange multiplier method, which provides a splitting scheme. Several experiments were conducted to illustrate the performance of the proposed method for RGB and multispectral image restoration, especially its abilities to recover complex structures and the details of multi-component visual data effectively.