Image interpolation using Shearlet based iterative refinement

This paper proposes an image interpolation algorithm exploiting sparse representation for natural images. It involves three main steps: (a) obtaining an initial estimate of the high resolution image using linear methods like FIR filtering, (b) promoting sparsity in a selected dictionary through iterative thresholding, and (c) extracting high frequency information from the approximation to refine the initial estimate. For the sparse modeling, a shearlet dictionary is chosen to yield a multiscale directional representation. The proposed algorithm is compared to several state-of-the-art methods to assess its objective as well as subjective performance. Compared to the cubic spline interpolation method, an average PSNR gain of around 0.8 dB is observed over a dataset of 200 images

Convolutional Deblurring for Natural Imaging

In this paper, we propose a novel design of image deblurring in the form of one-shot convolution filtering that can directly convolve with naturally blurred images for restoration. The problem of optical blurring is a common disadvantage to many imaging applications that suffer from optical imperfections. Despite numerous deconvolution methods that blindly estimate blurring in either inclusive or exclusive forms, they are practically challenging due to high computational cost and low image reconstruction quality. Both conditions of high accuracy and high speed are prerequisites for high-throughput imaging platforms in digital archiving. In such platforms, deblurring is required after image acquisition before being stored, previewed, or processed for high-level interpretation. Therefore, on-the-fly correction of such images is important to avoid possible time delays, mitigate computational expenses, and increase image perception quality. We bridge this gap by synthesizing a deconvolution kernel as a linear combination of Finite Impulse Response (FIR) even-derivative filters that can be directly convolved with blurry input images to boost the frequency fall-off of the Point Spread Function (PSF) associated with the optical blur. We employ a Gaussian low-pass filter to decouple the image denoising problem for image edge deblurring. Furthermore, we propose a blind approach to estimate the PSF statistics for two Gaussian and Laplacian models that are common in many imaging pipelines. Thorough experiments are designed to test and validate the efficiency of the proposed method using 2054 naturally blurred images across six imaging applications and seven state-of-the-art deconvolution methods.Comment: 15 pages, for publication in IEEE Transaction Image Processin

Temporal Interpolation via Motion Field Prediction

Navigated 2D multi-slice dynamic Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging enables high contrast 4D MR imaging during free breathing and provides in-vivo observations for treatment planning and guidance. Navigator slices are vital for retrospective stacking of 2D data slices in this method. However, they also prolong the acquisition sessions. Temporal interpolation of navigator slices an be used to reduce the number of navigator acquisitions without degrading specificity in stacking. In this work, we propose a convolutional neural network (CNN) based method for temporal interpolation via motion field prediction. The proposed formulation incorporates the prior knowledge that a motion field underlies changes in the image intensities over time. Previous approaches that interpolate directly in the intensity space are prone to produce blurry images or even remove structures in the images. Our method avoids such problems and faithfully preserves the information in the image. Further, an important advantage of our formulation is that it provides an unsupervised estimation of bi-directional motion fields. We show that these motion fields can be used to halve the number of registrations required during 4D reconstruction, thus substantially reducing the reconstruction time.Comment: Submitted to 1st Conference on Medical Imaging with Deep Learning (MIDL 2018), Amsterdam, The Netherland

On the Analysis of Neural Networks for Image Processing

This paper illustrates a novel method to analyze artificial neural networks so as to gain insight into their internal functionality. To this purpose, we will show analysis results of some feed-forward¿error-back-propagation neural networks for image processing. We will describe them in terms of domain-dependent basic functions, which are, in the case of the digital image processing domain, differential operators of various orders and with various angles of operation. Some other pixel classification techniques are analyzed in the same way, enabling easy comparison

Multiresolution based, multisensor, multispectral image fusion

Spaceborne sensors, which collect imagery of the Earth in various spectral bands, are limited by the data transmission rates. As a result the multispectral bands are transmitted at a lower resolution and only the panchromatic band is transmitted at its full resolution. The information contained in the multispectral bands is an invaluable tool for land use mapping, urban feature extraction, etc. However, the limited spatial resolution reduces the appeal and value of this information. Pan sharpening techniques enhance the spatial resolution of the multispectral imagery by extracting the high spatial resolution of the panchromatic band and adding it to the multispectral images. There are many different pan sharpening methods available like the ones based on the Intensity-Hue-Saturation and the Principal Components Analysis transformation. But these methods cause heavy spectral distortion of the multispectral images. This is a drawback if the pan sharpened images are to be used for classification based applications. In recent years, multiresolution based techniques have received a lot of attention since they preserve the spectral fidelity in the pan sharpened images. Many variations of the multiresolution based techniques exist. They differ based on the transform used to extract the high spatial resolution information from the images and the rules used to synthesize the pan sharpened image. The superiority of many of the techniques has been demonstrated by comparing them with fairly simple techniques like the Intensity-Hue-Saturation or the Principal Components Analysis. Therefore there is much uncertainty in the pan sharpening community as to which technique is the best at preserving the spectral fidelity. This research investigates these variations in order to find an answer to this question. An important parameter of the multiresolution based methods is the number of decomposition levels to be applied. It is found that the number of decomposition levels affects both the spatial and spectral quality of the pan sharpened images. The minimum number of decomposition levels required to fuse the multispectral and panchromatic images was determined in this study for image pairs with different resolution ratios and recommendations are made accordingly

Multiresolution based, multisensor, multispectral image fusion

Spaceborne sensors, which collect imagery of the Earth in various spectral bands, are limited by the data transmission rates. As a result the multispectral bands are transmitted at a lower resolution and only the panchromatic band is transmitted at its full resolution. The information contained in the multispectral bands is an invaluable tool for land use mapping, urban feature extraction, etc. However, the limited spatial resolution reduces the appeal and value of this information. Pan sharpening techniques enhance the spatial resolution of the multispectral imagery by extracting the high spatial resolution of the panchromatic band and adding it to the multispectral images. There are many different pan sharpening methods available like the ones based on the Intensity-Hue-Saturation and the Principal Components Analysis transformation. But these methods cause heavy spectral distortion of the multispectral images. This is a drawback if the pan sharpened images are to be used for classification based applications. In recent years, multiresolution based techniques have received a lot of attention since they preserve the spectral fidelity in the pan sharpened images. Many variations of the multiresolution based techniques exist. They differ based on the transform used to extract the high spatial resolution information from the images and the rules used to synthesize the pan sharpened image. The superiority of many of the techniques has been demonstrated by comparing them with fairly simple techniques like the Intensity-Hue-Saturation or the Principal Components Analysis. Therefore there is much uncertainty in the pan sharpening community as to which technique is the best at preserving the spectral fidelity. This research investigates these variations in order to find an answer to this question. An important parameter of the multiresolution based methods is the number of decomposition levels to be applied. It is found that the number of decomposition levels affects both the spatial and spectral quality of the pan sharpened images. The minimum number of decomposition levels required to fuse the multispectral and panchromatic images was determined in this study for image pairs with different resolution ratios and recommendations are made accordingly