Image enhancement using fuzzy intensity measure and adaptive clipping histogram equalization

Image enhancement aims at processing an input image so that the visual content of the output image is more pleasing or more useful for certain applications. Although histogram equalization is widely used in image enhancement due to its simplicity and effectiveness, it changes the mean brightness of the enhanced image and introduces a high level of noise and distortion. To address these problems, this paper proposes image enhancement using fuzzy intensity measure and adaptive clipping histogram equalization (FIMHE). FIMHE uses fuzzy intensity measure to first segment the histogram of the original image, and then clip the histogram adaptively in order to prevent excessive image enhancement. Experiments on the Berkeley database and CVF-UGR-Image database show that FIMHE outperforms state-of-the-art histogram equalization based methods

New Stereo Vision Algorithm Composition Using Weighted Adaptive Histogram Equalization and Gamma Correction

This work presents the composition of a new algorithm for a stereo vision system to acquire accurate depth measurement from stereo correspondence. Stereo correspondence produced by matching is commonly affected by image noise such as illumination variation, blurry boundaries, and radiometric differences. The proposed algorithm introduces a pre-processing step based on the combination of Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and Adaptive Gamma Correction Weighted Distribution (AGCWD) with a guided filter (GF). The cost value of the pre-processing step is determined in the matching cost step using the census transform (CT), which is followed by aggregation using the fixed-window and GF technique. A winner-takes-all (WTA) approach is employed to select the minimum disparity map value and final refinement using left-right consistency checking (LR) along with a weighted median filter (WMF) to remove outliers. The algorithm improved the accuracy 31.65% for all pixel errors and 23.35% for pixel errors in nonoccluded regions compared to several established algorithms on a Middlebury dataset

Contrast enhacenment of RGB color images by histogram equalization of color vectors' intensities

Mejora del contraste de imagenes de color RGBThe histogram equalization (HE) is a technique developed for image contrast enhancement of grayscale images. For RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color images, the HE is usually applied in the color channels separately; due to correlation between the color channels, the chromaticity of colors is modified. In order to overcome this problem, the colors of the image are mapped to different color spaces where the chromaticity and the intensity of colors are decoupled; then, the HE is applied in the intensity channel. Mapping colors between different color spaces may involve a huge computational load, because the mathematical operations are not linear. In this paper we present a proposal for contrast enhancement of RGB color images, without mapping the colors to different color spaces, where the HE is applied to the intensities of the color vectors. We show that the images obtained with our proposal are very similar to the images processed in the HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) and L*a*b* color spaces

Image contrast enhancement for preserving entropy and image visual features

Histogram equalization is essential for low-contrast enhancement in image processing. Several methods have been proposed; however, one of the most critical problems encountered by existing methods is their ability to preserve information in the enhanced image as the original. This research proposes an image enhancement method based on a histogram equalization approach that preserves the entropy and fine details similar to those of the original image. This is achieved through proposed probability density functions (PDFs) that preserve the small gray values of the usual PDF. The method consists of several steps. First, occurrences and clipped histograms are extracted according to the proposed thresholding. Then, they are equalized and used by a proposed transferring function to calculate the new pixel values in the enhanced image. The proposed method is compared with widely used methods such as Clahe, CS, HE, and GTSHE. Experiments using benchmark datasets and entropy, contrast, PSNR, and SSIM measurements are conducted to evaluate the performance. The results show that the proposed method is the only one that preserves the entropy of the enhanced image of the original image. In addition, it is efficient and reliable in enhancing image quality. This method preserves fine details and improves image quality, supporting computer vision and pattern recognition fields

A Global Two-Stage Histogram Equalization Method for Gray-Level Images

Digital image histogram equalization is an important technique in image processing to improve the quality of the visual appearance of images. However, the available methods suffer from several problems such as side effects and noise, brightness and contrast problems, loss of information and details, and failure in enhancement and in achieving the desired results. Therefore, the Adaptive Global Two-Stage Histogram Equalization (GTSHE) method for visual property enhancement of gray-level images is proposed. The first stage aims to clip the histogram and equalize the clipped histogram based on the number of occurrences of gray-level values. The second stage adaptively adjusts the space between occurrences by using a probability density function and different cumulative distribution functions that depend on the available and missing gray-level occurrences. Experiments were conducted using a number of benchmark datasets of images such as the Galaxies, Biomedical, Miscellaneous, Aerials, and Texture datasets. The results of the experiments were compared with a number of well-known methods, i.e. HE, AHEA, ESIHE, and MVSIHE, to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The evaluation analysis showed that the proposed GTSHE method achieved a higher accuracy rate compared to the other methods

Segmentation of images by color features: a survey

En este articulo se hace la revisión del estado del arte sobre la segmentación de imagenes de colorImage segmentation is an important stage for object recognition. Many methods have been proposed in the last few years for grayscale and color images. In this paper, we present a deep review of the state of the art on color image segmentation methods; through this paper, we explain the techniques based on edge detection, thresholding, histogram-thresholding, region, feature clustering and neural networks. Because color spaces play a key role in the methods reviewed, we also explain in detail the most commonly color spaces to represent and process colors. In addition, we present some important applications that use the methods of image segmentation reviewed. Finally, a set of metrics frequently used to evaluate quantitatively the segmented images is shown

Use of ultrasound and magnetic resonance image processing for evaluation of supraspinatus and biceps tendon pathology in dogs

Shoulder injuries, especially those caused by rotator cuff tears, are a pervasive problem in human and canine patients. The ability to quickly and accurately diagnose rotator cuff tears is important for early and targeted treatment. Prior clinical work has demonstrated that ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging effectively diagnose these tears. However, there has been limited use of quantitative image processing to validate the imaging and clinical findings. The aim of our study was to evaluate the use of medical image processing to objectively assess tendon injuries in ultrasound and magnetic resonance images of biceps and supraspinatus tendons of dogs. Histogram peak intensity measurements were performed on regions of interest drawn on ultrasound and magnetic resonance images of the supraspinatus and biceps muscles and tendons in 5 dogs with known front limb lameness and pain localized to the shoulder joints. Peak intensity increased from untorn supraspinatus and biceps tendon to torn tendon at a greater magnitude in ultrasound imaging than in magnetic resonance imaging. The histogram analysis suggested that ultrasound imaging is a superior method for diagnosing torn supraspinatus and biceps tendons based on contrast. Furthermore, this conclusion is strengthened by practical considerations that favor ultrasound imaging as a primary form of diagnosis

A novel face recognition system in unconstrained environments using a convolutional neural network

The performance of most face recognition systems (FRS) in unconstrained environments is widely noted to be sub-optimal. One reason for this poor performance may be due to the lack of highly effective image pre-processing approaches, which are typically required before the feature extraction and classification stages. Furthermore, it is noted that only minimal face recognition issues are typically considered in most FRS, thus limiting the wide applicability of most FRS in real-life scenarios. Thus, it is envisaged that developing more effective pre-processing techniques, in addition to selecting the correct features for classification, will significantly improve the performance of FRS. The thesis investigates different research works on FRS, its techniques and challenges in unconstrained environments. The thesis proposes a novel image enhancement technique as a pre-processing approach for FRS. The proposed enhancement technique improves on the overall FRS model resulting into an increased recognition performance. Also, a selection of novel hybrid features has been presented that is extracted from the enhanced facial images within the dataset to improve recognition performance. The thesis proposes a novel evaluation function as a component within the image enhancement technique to improve face recognition in unconstrained environments. Also, a defined scale mechanism was designed within the evaluation function to evaluate the enhanced images such that extreme values depict too dark or too bright images. The proposed algorithm enables the system to automatically select the most appropriate enhanced face image without human intervention. Evaluation of the proposed algorithm was done using standard parameters, where it is demonstrated to outperform existing image enhancement techniques both quantitatively and qualitatively. The thesis confirms the effectiveness of the proposed image enhancement technique towards face recognition in unconstrained environments using the convolutional neural network. Furthermore, the thesis presents a selection of hybrid features from the enhanced image that results in effective image classification. Different face datasets were selected where each face image was enhanced using the proposed and existing image enhancement technique prior to the selection of features and classification task. Experiments on the different face datasets showed increased and better performance using the proposed approach. The thesis shows that putting an effective image enhancement technique as a preprocessing approach can improve the performance of FRS as compared to using unenhanced face images. Also, the right features to be extracted from the enhanced face dataset as been shown to be an important factor for the improvement of FRS. The thesis made use of standard face datasets to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. On the LFW face dataset, an improved performance recognition rate was obtained when considering all the facial conditions within the face dataset.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.CSIR-DST Inter programme bursaryElectrical, Electronic and Computer EngineeringPhDUnrestricte