Projections onto the epigraph set of the filtered variation function based deconvolution algorithm

A new deconvolution algorithm based on orthogonal projections onto the hyperplanes and the epigraph set of a convex cost function is presented. In this algorithm, the convex sets corresponding to the cost function are defined by increasing the dimension of the minimization problem by one. The Filtered Variation (FV) function is used as the convex cost function in this algorithm. Since the FV cost function is a convex function in RN, then the corresponding epigraph set is also a convex set in the lifted set in RN+1. At each step of the iterative deconvolution algorithm, starting with an arbitrary initial estimate in RN+1, first the projections onto the hyperplanes are performed to obtain the first deconvolution estimate. Then an orthogonal projection is performed onto the epigraph set of the FV cost function, in order to regularize and denoise the deconvolution estimate, in a sequential manner. The algorithm converges to the deblurred image. © 2016 IEEE

Phase and TV Based Convex Sets for Blind Deconvolution of Microscopic Images

In this article, two closed and convex sets for blind deconvolution problem are proposed. Most blurring functions in microscopy are symmetric with respect to the origin. Therefore, they do not modify the phase of the Fourier transform (FT) of the original image. As a result blurred image and the original image have the same FT phase. Therefore, the set of images with a prescribed FT phase can be used as a constraint set in blind deconvolution problems. Another convex set that can be used during the image reconstruction process is the epigraph set of Total Variation (TV) function. This set does not need a prescribed upper bound on the total variation of the image. The upper bound is automatically adjusted according to the current image of the restoration process. Both of these two closed and convex sets can be used as a part of any blind deconvolution algorithm. Simulation examples are presented.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Selected Topics in Signal Processin

Image restoration and reconstruction using projections onto epigraph set of convex cost fuchtions

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This thesis focuses on image restoration and reconstruction problems. These inverse problems are solved using a convex optimization algorithm based on orthogonal Projections onto the Epigraph Set of a Convex Cost functions (PESC). In order to solve the convex minimization problem, the dimension of the problem is lifted by one and then using the epigraph concept the feasibility sets corresponding to the cost function are defined. Since the cost function is a convex function in R N , the corresponding epigraph set is also a convex set in R N+1. The convex optimization algorithm starts with an arbitrary initial estimate in R N+1 and at each step of the iterative algorithm, an orthogonal projection is performed onto one of the constraint sets associated with the cost function in a sequential manner. The PESC algorithm provides globally optimal solutions for different functions such as total variation, `1-norm, `2-norm, and entropic cost functions. Denoising, deconvolution and compressive sensing are among the applications of PESC algorithm. The Projection onto Epigraph Set of Total Variation function (PES-TV) is used in 2-D applications and for 1-D applications Projection onto Epigraph Set of `1-norm cost function (PES-`1) is utilized. In PES-`1 algorithm, first the observation signal is decomposed using wavelet or pyramidal decomposition. Both wavelet denoising and denoising methods using the concept of sparsity are based on soft-thresholding. In sparsity-based denoising methods, it is assumed that the original signal is sparse in some transform domain such as Fourier, DCT, and/or wavelet domain and transform domain coefficients of the noisy signal are soft-thresholded to reduce noise. Here, the relationship between the standard soft-thresholding based denoising methods and sparsity-based wavelet denoising methods is described. A deterministic soft-threshold estimation method using the epigraph set of `1-norm cost function is presented. It is demonstrated that the size of the `1-ball can be determined using linear algebra. The size of the `1-ball in turn determines the soft-threshold. The PESC, PES-TV and PES-`1 algorithms, are described in detail in this thesis. Extensive simulation results are presented. PESC based inverse restoration and reconstruction algorithm is compared to the state of the art methods in the literature.Tofighi, MohammadM.S

Phase and TV Based Convex Sets for Blind Deconvolution of Microscopic Images

In this paper, two closed and convex sets for blind deconvolution problem are proposed. Most blurring functions in microscopy are symmetric with respect to the origin. Therefore, they do not modify the phase of the Fourier transform (FT) of the original image. As a result blurred image and the original image have the same FT phase. Therefore, the set of images with a prescribed FT phase can be used as a constraint set in blind deconvolution problems. Another convex set that can be used during the image reconstruction process is the Epigraph Set of Total Variation (ESTV) function. This set does not need a prescribed upper bound on the Total Variation (TV) of the image. The upper bound is automatically adjusted according to the current image of the restoration process. Both the TV of the image and the blurring filter are regularized using the ESTV set. Both the phase information set and the ESTV are closed and convex sets. Therefore they can be used as a part of any blind deconvolution algorithm. Simulation examples are presented. © 2015 IEEE

Epigraphical Projection and Proximal Tools for Solving Constrained Convex Optimization Problems: Part I

We propose a proximal approach to deal with convex optimization problems involving nonlinear constraints. A large family of such constraints, proven to be effective in the solution of inverse problems, can be expressed as the lower level set of a sum of convex functions evaluated over different, but possibly overlapping, blocks of the signal. For this class of constraints, the associated projection operator generally does not have a closed form. We circumvent this difficulty by splitting the lower level set into as many epigraphs as functions involved in the sum. A closed half-space constraint is also enforced, in order to limit the sum of the introduced epigraphical variables to the upper bound of the original lower level set. In this paper, we focus on a family of constraints involving linear transforms of l_1,p balls. Our main theoretical contribution is to provide closed form expressions of the epigraphical projections associated with the Euclidean norm and the sup norm. The proposed approach is validated in the context of image restoration with missing samples, by making use of TV-like constraints. Experiments show that our method leads to significant improvements in term of convergence speed over existing algorithms for solving similar constrained problems

Projection onto Epigraph Sets for Rapid Self-Tuning Compressed Sensing MRI

The compressed sensing (CS) framework leverages the sparsity of MR images to reconstruct from undersampled acquisitions. CS reconstructions involve one or more regularization parameters that weigh sparsity in transform domains against fidelity to acquired data. While parameter selection is critical for reconstruction quality, the optimal parameters are subject and dataset specific. Thus, commonly practiced heuristic parameter selection generalizes poorly to independent datasets. Recent studies have proposed to tune parameters by estimating the risk of removing significant image coefficients. Line searches are performed across the parameter space to identify the parameter value that minimizes this risk. Although effective, these line searches yield prolonged reconstruction times. Here, we propose a new self-tuning CS method that uses computationally efficient projections onto epigraph sets of the ℓ1 and total-variation norms to simultaneously achieve parameter selection and regularization. In vivo demonstrations are provided for balanced steady-state free precession, time-of-flight, and T1-weighted imaging. The proposed method achieves an order of magnitude improvement in computational efficiency over line-search methods while maintaining near-optimal parameter selection.IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society IEEE Signal Processing Society IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Societ