Unit III Image Enhancement

Two mark Questions with Answers

1. What is a mask?
A Mask is a small two-dimensional array, in which the
value of the mask coefficient determines the nature of the
process, such as image sharpening.
The enhancement technique based on this type of
approach is referred to as mask processing.
2. How can an image negative be obtained?
The negative of an image with gray levels in the range [0, L-1] is
obtained by using the negative transformation, which is given by the
expression.
s = L-1- r, wheres is output pixel, r is input pixel
3. What is the difference between contrast stretching and
compression of dynamic range?
Contrast Stretching
Produce higher contrast than the original by
Darkening the levels below m in the original image.
Brightening the levels above m in the original image.
Compression of dynamic range
It compresses the dynamic range of images with
large variations in pixel values
Example of image with dynamic range: Fourier
spectrum image
It can have intensity range from 0 to 10
6
or higher.
We cant see the significant degree of detail as it will
be lost in the display.
The contrast stretching increases the dynamic
range of the gray levels
4. What is a histogram?
Histogram of a digital image with gray levels in the range
[0,L-1] is a discrete function.
h(r
k
) = n
k

Where,
r
k
: the k
th
gray level
n
k
: the number of pixels in the image having gray level r
k
h(r
k
) : histogram of a digital image with gray levels r
k
5. What is meant by histogram equalization?
It is a technique used to obtain linear histogram. It is also
known as histogram linearization. Condition for uniform
histogram is Ps(s) = 1
(or)
The histogram equalization is an approach to enhance a
given image. The approach is to design a transformation T(.)
such that the gray values in the output is uniformly distributed
in [0, 1].
6. How can histogram equalization be applied locally?
Histogram processing methods are global processing, in
the sense that pixels are modified by a transformation
function based on the gray-level content of an entire
image.
Sometimes, we may need to enhance details over small
areas in an image, which is called a local enhancement.
7. What is Image Enhancement?
Image enhancement is a technique to process an image
so that the result is more suitable than the original image for
specific applications.
8. In local Histogram processing, why are non-overlapping
regions used?
Its used to reduce computation is to utilize
nonoverlapping regions, but it usually produces an undesirable
checkerboard effect.
9. What is meant by histogram matching or histogram
specification?
Histogram equalization yields an image whose pixels are
(in theory) uniformly distributed among all gray levels.
Sometimes, this may not be desirable. Instead, we may want a
transformation that yields an output image with a pre-specified
histogram. This technique is called histogram specification.
10. How can noise reduction be accomplished using image
averaging?
Consider a noisy image g(x,y) formed by the addition of noise
(x,y) to an original image f(x,y).
g(x,y) = f(x,y) + (x,y)
if noise has zero mean and be uncorrelated then it can be
shown that if
) , ( y x g
Then,
) , (
2
) , (
2
,
y x y x g

if K increase, it indicates that the variability (noise) of the
pixel at each location (x,y) decreases.
11. Differentiate between linear and nonlinear spatial filters.
s.n
o.
Linear spatial filter Non-linear spatial filter
1
( , ) ( , )
1
K
g x y g x y
i
K
i

1
2 2
( , ) ( , ) g x y x y
K

1.
2.
Response is a sum of
products of the filter
co-efficient.
R = w(-1,-1) f(x-1,y-1)
+
w(-1,0) f(x-1,y) +
+
w(0,0) f(x,y) + +
w(1,0) f(x+1,y) +
w(1,1) f(x+1,y+1).
They do not explicitly use
co-efficients in the sum-of-
products.
R = w1z1 + w2z2 +
+w9z9
9
= wizi
i=1

12. What is image Negatives?
The negative of an image with gray levels in the range [0, L-
1] is obtained by using the negative transformation, which is
given by the expression.
s = L-1- r, Where s is output pixel, r is input pixel
13. Differentiate between Correlation and Convolution with
specific reference to an image and a filter mask.
Convolution in frequency domain reduces the multiplication in
the x domain
The correlation of 2 continuous functions f(x) and g(x) is
defined by
14. Define derivative filter.
For a function f (x, y), the gradient f at co-ordinate (x, y) is
defined as the vector
15. What is the principal difficulty with the smoothing method
with reference to edges and sharp details?
Median filtering is a powerful smoothing technique that does
not blur the edges significantly .
Max/min filtering is used where the max or min value of the
neighbourhood gray levels replaces the candidatepel .
Shrinking and expansion are useful operations especially in
two tone images.
16. What is the basic characteristic of a high pass filter mask
coefficients?
The basic strategy behind weighting the center point the
highest and then reducing the value of the coefficients as a
function of increasing distance from the origin is simply an
attempt to reduce blurring in the smoothing process.
17. What is the effect of averaging with reference to detail in
an image?
An important application of image averaging is in the field
of astronomy, where imaging with very low light levels is
routine, causing sensor noise frequently to render single
images virtually useless for analysis.
18. Outline a simple procedure to produce an enhanced
image using a fourier transform and a filter transfer function.
Frequency domain techniques are based on modifying the
Fourier transform of an image.
19. How can blurring or smoothing process be explained in
the frequency domain?
Smoothing Filters are used for blurring and for noise reduction
Blurring is used for removal of small details prior to
object extraction.
bridging of small gaps in lines or curves.
Smoothing Linear Filters (Averaging Filters)
replace the average value defined by the filter mask.
have the undesirable effect of blur edges
20. How can image sharpening be achieved by a high pass
filtering process in the frequency domain?
Image sharpening deals with enhancing detail information in
an image.
The detail information is typically contained in the high spatial
frequency components of the image. Therefore, most of the
techniques contain some form of high pass filtering.
High pass filtering can be done in both the spatial and
frequency domain.
Spatial domain: using convolution mask (e.g.
enhancement filter).
Frequency domain: using multiplication mask.
21. What is homomorphic filtering?
Homomorphic filtering is a generalized technique for
signal and image processing, involving a nonlinear mapping to
a different domain in which linear filter techniques are applied,
followed by mapping back to the original domain.
22. Write the application of sharpening filters.
The applications of sharpening filters are as follows,
i. Electronic printing and medical imaging to industrial
application
ii. Autonomous target detection in smart weapons.
23. What do you mean by point processing?
Image enhancement at any Point in an image depends
only on the gray level at that point is often referred to as Point
processing.
24. Define high boost filter.
High boost filtered image is defined as
HBF= A (original image)-LPF = (A-1) original image +
original image LPF
HBF= (A-1) original image +HPF
25. Name the different types of derivative filters.
The different types of derivative filters are
i. Perwitt operators
ii. ii) Roberts cross gradient operators
iii. iii)Sobel operators.
Twelve mark Questions
1. What is image enhancement? Explain Contrast stretching and
compression of dynamic range.
Image enhancement is a technique to process an
image so that the result is more suitable than the
original image for specific applications.
The suitableness is up to each application.
A method which is quite useful for enhancing an image
may not necessarily be the best approach for
enhancing another images
Image enhancement widely used in computer graphics.
It is the sub areas of image processing.
Enhancement approaches:
1. Spatial domain 2. Frequency domain
1)Spatial Domain : (image plane)
Techniques are based on direct manipulation of pixels in
an image.
2)Frequency Domain :
Techniques are based on modifying the Fourier transform
of an image.
There are some enhancement techniques based on various
combinations of methods from these two categories.
Contrast Stretching
Low contrast images occur often due to poor or
nonuniform lighting conditions or due to nonlinearity or small
dynamic range of the image sensor.
Expands the range of intensity levels in an image so that
it spans the full intensity range of the recording medium or
display device.
The figure shows a typical contrast stretching transformation
FIG : Contrast Stretching Transformation
For , Dark region stretch
1,
3
L
a > ;
;
Mid region stretch
2
1,
3
L
b > ;
;
Bright region stretch
1 >
Which can be expressed as,
, 0
( ) ,
( ) ,
a
b
u for u a
u a V for a u b
u b V for b u L

+
'

The slope of the transformation is chosen greater than unity in

the region of stretch.
The parameters a & b can be obtained by examining the
histogram of the image.
For example, the gray scale intervals where pixels occur most
frequently would be stretched most to improve the overall
visibility of the scene.
Produce Higher contrast than the original image:
By darkening the levels below m in the original image.
By Brightening the levels above m in the original image.
Compression of dynamic range.
Sometimes the dynamic range of the image data may
be very large.
For example, the dynamic range of a typical unitarily
transformed image is so large that only a few pixels are
visible.
The dynamic range can be compressed via the logarithmic
transformation.
log (1 )
10
C u +
Where C is a scaling constant and u is a Gray levels.
This transformation enhance the small magnitude pixels
compared to those pixels with large magnitudes.
2. Explain histogram equalization and histogram specification.
How can they be applied for local enhancement?
Histogram Processing
Histogram of a digital image with gray levels in the range [0,L-
1] is a discrete function
h(r
k
) = n
k
Where
r
k
: the k
th
gray level
n
k
: the number of pixels in the image having
gray level r
k

h(r
k
) : histogram of a digital image with gray
levels r
k
Histogram Equalization
Histogram EQUALization
Aim: To equalize the histogram, to flatten, distrubute as
uniform as possible.
As the low-contrast image's histogram is narrow and centred
towards the middle of the gray scale, by distributing the
histogram to a wider range will improve the quality of the
image.
Adjust probability density function of the original histogram so
that the probabilities spread equally
The histogram equalization is an approach to enhance a
given image. The approach is to design a
transformation T(.) such that the gray values in the
output is uniformly distributed in [0, 1].
Let us assume for the moment that the input image to
be enhanced has continuous gray values, with r = 0
representing black and r = 1 representing white.
We need to design a gray value transformation s = T(r), based
on the histogram of the input image, which will enhance the
image.
As before, we assume that:
(1) T(r) is a monotonically increasing function for 0r1
(preserves order from black to white).
(2) T(r) maps [0,1] into [0,1] (preserves the range of
allowed Gray values).
Let us denote the inverse transformation by r = T
-1
(s) . We
assume that the inverse transformation also satisfies the
above two conditions.
We consider the gray values in the input image and output
image as random variables in the interval [0, 1].
Let p
in
(r) and p
out
(s) denote the probability density of the Gray
values in the input and output images.
If p
in
(r) and T(r) are known, and r = T
-1
(s) satisfies condition
1, we can write (result from probability theory):
( ) ( )
1
( )
dr
p s p r
out in
ds
r T s
1
1
]

One way to enhance the image is to design a transformation

T(.) such that the gray values in the output is uniformly
distributed in [0, 1], i.e. p
out
(s) = 1, 0s1 .
In terms of histograms, the output image will have all gray
values in equal proportion. This technique is called
histogram equalization.
Next we derive the gray values in the output is uniformly
distributed in [0, 1].
Consider the transformation
( ) ( ) 0 1
,
0
r
s T r p w dw r
in

Note that this is the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of

p
in
(r) and satisfies the previous two conditions.
From the previous equation and using the fundamental
theorem of calculus,
( )
ds
p r
in
dr

Therefore, the output histogram is given by
1
( ) ( ) 1 1, 0 1
1
( )
( )
1
( )
p s p r s
r T s out
in
p r
in
r T s
1
1
1
1 ]
1
]

The output probability density function is uniform, regardless

of the input.
Thus, using a transformation function equal to the CDF of input
gray values r, we can obtain an image with uniform gray
values.
This usually results in an enhanced image, with an increase in
the dynamic range of pixel values.
How to implement histogram equalization?
Step 1:For images with discrete gray values, compute:
( )
n
k
p r
in n
k

0 1 r
k

0 1 k L
L: Total number of gray levels
n
k
: Number of pixels with gray value
r
k

n: Total number of pixels in the
image
Step 2: Based on CDF, compute the discrete version of the
previous transformation :
( ) ( )
0
k
s T r p r
in j
k k
j

0 1 k L
Example:
Consider an 8-level 64 x 64 image with gray values (0, 1, ,7).
The normalized gray values are (0, 1/7, 2/7, , 1). The
normalized histogram is given below:
NB: The gray values in output are also (0, 1/7, 2/7, , 1).
Notice that there are only five distinct gray levels --- (1/7,
3/7,5/7, 6/7, 1) in the output image. We will relabel them as
(s
0
,s
1
, , s
4
).
With this transformation, the output image will have histogram
Histogram Specification (Histogram Matching)
Histogram equalization yields an image whose pixels are (in
theory) uniformly distributed among all gray levels.
Sometimes, this may not be desirable. Instead, we may want a
transformation that yields an output image with a pre-specified
histogram. This technique is called histogram specification.
Given Information
(1) Input image from which we can compute its
histogram .
(2) Desired histogram.
Goal
Derive a point operation, H(r), that maps the input
image into an output image that has the user-specified
histogram.
Again, we will assume, for the moment, continuous-gray
values.
Approach of derivation
Step1: Equalize the levels of the original image
Step2: Specify the desired pdf and obtain the transformation
function
Step3: Apply the inverse transformation function to the levels
obtained in step 1
Histogram equalization has a disadvantage which is that it can
generate only one type of output image.
With Histogram Specification, we can specify the shape of the
histogram that we wish the output image to have.
It doesnt have to be a uniform histogram
Consider the continuous domain ,
Let p
r
(r) denote continuous probability density function of
gray-level of input image, r
Let p
z
(z) denote desired (specified) continuous probability
density function of gray-level of output image, z
Let s be a random variable with the property
Histogram equalization
Where w is a dummy variable of integration
Next, we define a random variable z with the property
Histogram equalization
Where t is a dummy variable of integration
Thus, s = T(r) = G(z)
Therefore, z must satisfy the condition, z = G
-1
(s) = G
-
1
[T(r)]
Assume G
-1
exists and satisfies the condition (a) and (b)
We can map an input gray level r to output gray level z

r
r
dw ) w ( p ) r ( T s
0
s dt ) t ( p ) z ( g
z
z

0
Procedure Conclusion:
1. Obtain the transformation function T(r) by calculating the
histogram equalization of the input image
( ) ( )
0
r
s T r p w dw
r


2. Obtain the transformation function G(z) by calculating
histogram equalization of the desired density function
( ) ( )
0
z
G z p t dt s
z

3. Obtain the inversed transformation function G

-1

z = G
-1
(s) = G
-1
[T(r)]
4. Obtain the output image by applying the processed gray-level
from the inversed transformation function to all the pixels in
the input image
Histogram specification is a trial-and-error process
There are no rules for specifying histograms, and one must
resort to analysis on a case-by-case basis for any given
enhancement task.
Local Enhancement
Histogram processing methods are global processing, in
the sense that pixels are modified by a transformation
function based on the gray-level content of an entire
image.
Sometimes, we may need to enhance details over small
areas in an image, which is called a local enhancement.
The image pre-processing may be used for different
goals.
For example for manual or automatic image processing.
So we have developed another image enhancement
procedure, the local histogram equalization.
The main idea is to take into account histogram
distribution over local window and combine it with global
histogram distribution. We have used nonlinear histogram
equalization for combination of local and global histogram.
a) Original image (slightly blurred to reduce noise)
b) global histogram equalization (enhance noise & slightly
increase contrast but the construction is not changed)
c) local histogram equalization using 7x7 neighborhood (reveals
the small squares inside larger ones of the original image.
Define a square or rectangular neighborhood and move the
center of this area from pixel to pixel.
At each location, the histogram of the points in the
neighborhood is computed and either histogram equalization
or histogram specification transformation function is obtained.
Another approach used to reduce computation is to utilize
nonoverlapping regions, but it usually produces an undesirable
checkerboard effect.
Explain the result in c)
Basically, the original image consists of many small squares
inside the larger dark ones.
However, the small squares were too close in gray level to the
larger ones, and their sizes were too small to influence global
histogram equalization significantly.
So, when we use the local enhancement technique, it reveals
the small areas.
Note also the finer noise texture is resulted by the local
processing using relatively small neighborhoods.
3. Explain image subtraction technique and its application in
mask mode radiography.
Image subtraction technique
The difference between two images f(x,y) and h(x,y) are
expressed as,
G(x,y)= f(x,y) h(x,y)
Is obtained by computing the difference between all pairs of
corresponding pixels from f and h. The key usefulness of
subtraction is the enhancement of difference between images.
In many imaging applications it is desired to compare two
complicated busy images.
A simple but powerful method is to align the two images and
subtract them.
The difference image is then enhance. For example, the
missing components on a circuit board can be detected by
subtracting its image from that of a properly assembled board.
Another application is imaging of the blood vessels and
arteries in a body. The blood stream is injected with radio
opaque dye and X-ray images are taken before and after the
injection. The difference of the two images yields a clear
display of the blood flow paths.
Other applications of change detection are in security
monitoring systems, automated inspection of printed circuits
and so on.

Mask mode radiography
One of the most commercially successful and beneficial uses
of image subtraction is in the area of medical imaging called
mask mode radiography .
h(x,y) is the mask, an X-ray image of a region of a patients
body captured by an intensified TV camera (instead of
traditional X-ray film) located opposite an X-ray source
f(x,y) is an X-ray image taken after injection a contrast
medium into the patients bloodstream
images are captured at TV rates, so the doctor can see how
the medium propagates through the various arteries in the
area being observed (the effect of subtraction) in a movie
showing mode.
Note
We may have to adjust the gray-scale of the subtracted image
to be [0, 255] (if 8-bit is used)
first, find the minimum gray value of the subtracted
image
second, find the maximum gray value of the subtracted
image
set the minimum value to be zero and the maximum to
be 255
while the rest are adjusted according to the interval
[0, 255], by timing each value with 255/max
Subtraction is also used in segmentation of moving pictures to
track the changes
after subtract the sequenced images, what is left should
be the moving elements in the image, plus noise
4. Explain image averaging.
Consider a noisy image g(x,y) formed by the addition of noise
(x,y) to an original image f(x,y)
if noise has zero mean and be uncorrelated then it can be
shown that if
= image formed by averaging K different noisy
images
If the noise is uncorrelated and has zero expectation, then
( ) ( ) ( )
, , , g x y f x y x y +
( ) ( ) ( )
1 1 1
, , ,
0 0 0
M M M
g x y f x y x y
i
i i i


+


( ) ( ) ( )
, , , g x y f x y x y +
( ) { } ( )
, , E g x y f x y
) , ( y x g
1
( , ) ( , )
1
K
g x y g x y
i
K
i

)} , ( { y x g E
= expected value of g (output after
averaging)
= original image f(x,y)
) , (
2
) , (
2
,
y x y x g

= variances of g and
if K increase, it indicates that the variability (noise) of the pixel at
each location (x,y) decreases.
(or) Assume n(x,y) a white noise with mean=0,
and variance
If we have a set of noisy images
The noise variance in the average image
is
Note: the images g
i
(x,y) (noisy images) must be registered
(aligned) in order to avoid the introduction of blurring and
other artifacts in the output image.
1
2 2
,
,
x y
g x y
M

_
_


,
,

2 2
( , ) E n x y

' )

@
( , ) g x y
i
1
( , ) ( , )
1
M
g x y g x y
ave
i
M
i

2
1 1 1
2 2
( , ) ( , )
2
1 1
M M
E n x y E n x y
i i
M M
M
i i


_




' ) ' )



,





5. What are smoothing filters? Explain low pass spatial filtering
and median filtering.
Smoothing is fundamentally a low pass operation in the
frequency domain.
Spatial Filtering
Spatial filters are designed to highlight or suppress specific
features in an image based on their spatial frequency..
Filtering is performed by using convolution windows.
Used to enhance the appearance of an image
It is based on concept of image texture
It highlight or suppress specific features in an image based on
their spatial frequency
use filter (can also be called as mask/kernel/template or
window)
the values in a filter subimage are referred to as coefficients,
rather than pixel.
our focus will be on masks of odd sizes, e.g. 3x3, 5x5,
Spatial Filtering Process
simply move the filter mask from point to point in an image.
at each point (x,y), the response of the filter at that point is
calculated using a predefined relationship.
...
1 1 2 2
R w z w z w z
mn mn
mn
w z
i i
i i
+ + +

Spatial Filtering (Masking)

Therefore, R= w
1
z
1
+ w
2
z
2
+ .. +w
9
z
9
The operation is similar to Convolution. Hence the masks are
also called convolution masks.
Non linear operations such as finding median may also be
done on a neighborhood.
Near the edges parts of the masks may lie beyond the image
boundary.
To avoid this either a smaller filtered image is accepted.
Or zeros are padded along the image boundary.
Median Filters
replaces the value of a pixel by the median of the gray levels
in the neighborhood of that pixel (the original value of the
pixel is included in the computation of the median)
Quite popular because for certain types of random noise
(impulse noise salt and pepper noise) , they provide
excellent noise-reduction capabilities, with considering less
blurring than linear smoothing filters of similar size.
Forces the points with distinct gray levels to be more like their
neighbors.
Isolated clusters of pixels that are light or dark with respect to
their neighbors, and whose area is less than n
2
/2 (one-half the
filter area), are eliminated by an n x n median filter.
Eliminated = forced to have the value equal the median
intensity of the neighbors.
larger clusters are affected considerably less
Median Filters
Excellent at noise removal, without the smoothing effects
that can occur with other smoothing filters
Particularly good when salt and pepper noise is present
Max filter is good for pepper noise and min is good for salt noise.
The gradient of the image intensity at each point, gives the
direction of the largest possible increase from light to dark and
the rate of change in that direction. The result therefore shows
how "abruptly" or "smoothly" the image changes at that point,
and therefore how likely it is that that part of the image
represents an edge, as well as how that edge is likely to be
oriented. In practice, the magnitude (likelihood of an edge)
calculation is more reliable and easier to interpret than the
direction calculation.
Mathematically, the gradient of a two-variable function (here
the image intensity function) is at each image point a 2D
vector with the components given by the derivatives in the
horizontal and vertical directions.
The Sobel operator represents a rather inaccurate
approximation of the image gradient, but is still of sufficient
quality to be of practical use in many applications
Sobel operators :


What are sharpening filters? Explain Derivative filters.
Sharpening filters are used to enhance the edges of
objects and adjust the contrast and the shade
characteristics. In combination with threshold they can
be used as edge detectors. Sharpening or high-pass
filters let high frequencies pass and reduce the lower
frequencies and are extremely sensitive to shut noise.
To construct a high-pass filter the kernel coefficients
should be set positive near the center of the kernel and in the
outer periphery negative.
The sharpening filters are divided into the following groups:
High Pass Filters (Uni Crisp)
Laplacian of Gaussian / Mexican Hat filters.
Unsharp Masking
High Boost filtering
Difference of Gaussians
The applications of sharpening filters are as follows,
i. Electronic printing and medical imaging to industrial application
ii. Autonomous target detection in smart weapons.
Derivative filters
For a function f (x, y), the gradient f at co-ordinate (x, y) is
defined as the vector
The strength of the response of a derivative operator is
proportional to the degree of discontinuity of the image at the
point at which the operator is applied.
thus, image differentiation
enhances edges and other discontinuities (noise)
Deemphasizes area with slowly varying gray-level values.
First-order derivative
a basic definition of the first-order derivative of a one-
dimensional function f(x) is the difference
Second-order derivative
similarly, we define the second-order derivative of a one-
dimensional function f(x) is the difference
First and Second-order derivative of f(x,y)
when we consider an image function of two variables, f(x,y), at
which time we will dealing with partial derivatives along the
two spatial axes.
Gradient operator
( , ) ( , ) ( , )
f
f x y f x y f x y
x y x y

+

Laplacian operator
(linear operator)
( 1) ( )
f
f x f x
x

2
( 1) ( 1) 2 ( )
2
f
f x f x f x
x

+ +

2 2
( , ) ( , )
2
2 2
f x y f x y
f
x y

+

Effect of Laplacian Operator
as it is a derivative operator,
it highlights gray-level discontinuities in an image
it deemphasizes regions with slowly varying gray levels
tends to produce images that have
grayish edge lines and other discontinuities, all
superimposed on a dark,
featureless background.
The gradient of an image f(x,y) at location (x,y) is the vector

The gradient vector points are in the direction of maximum
rate of change of f at (x,y)
In edge detection an important quantity is the magnitude of
this vector (gradient) and is denoted as f.
f = mag (f) = [Gx
2
+Gy
2
]

The direction of gradient vector also is an important quantity.

(x,y) = tan-1(Gy/Gx)
6. Explain Low pass filtering in frequency domain. Discuss using
an ideal filter.
The basic model for filtering in the frequency domain
( , ) ( , ) ( , ) G u v H u v F u v
Where,
F(u,v): the Fourier transform of the image to be
smoothed
H(u,v): a filter transfer function
Smoothing is fundamentally a lowpass operation in the
frequency domain.
There are several standard forms of lowpass filters (LPF).
Ideal lowpass filter
Butterworth lowpass filter
Gaussian lowpass filter
Ideal Lowpass Filters (ILPFs)

The simplest lowpass filter is a filter that cuts off all high-
frequency components of the Fourier transform that are at a
distance greater than a specified distance D
0
from the origin of
the transform.
The transfer function of an ideal lowpass filter
1 if ( , )
0
( , )
0 if ( , )
0
D u v D
H u v
D u v D

'

>

Where,
D(u,v) : the distance from point (u,v) to the center of their
frequency rectangle (M/2, N/2)
1
2 2
2
( , ) ( / 2) ( / 2) D u v u M v N
1
1
]
+

Fig: a) Perspective plot of an ideal low pass filter transfer
function
Fig : b) Filter displayed as an image

Fig : c) Filter radial cross section
LPF is a type of nonphysical filters and cant be realized with
electronic components and is not very practical.
7. Explain low pass filtering in frequency domain. Differentiate
between using ideal filter and Butterworth filter for low pass
filtering.
The basic model for filtering in the frequency domain
( , ) ( , ) ( , ) G u v H u v F u v
Where,
F(u,v): the Fourier transform of the image to be
smoothed
H(u,v): a filter transfer function
Smoothing is fundamentally a lowpass operation in the
frequency domain.
There are several standard forms of lowpass filters (LPF).
Ideal lowpass filter
Butterworth lowpass filter
Gaussian lowpass filter
Ideal Lowpass Filters (ILPFs)

The simplest low pass filter is a filter that cuts off all high-
frequency components of the Fourier transform that are at a
distance greater than a specified distance D
0
from the origin of
the transform.
The transfer function of an ideal lowpass filter
1 if ( , )
0
( , )
0 if ( , )
0
D u v D
H u v
D u v D

'

>

Where,
D(u,v) : the distance from point (u,v) to the center of their
frequency rectangle (M/2, N/2)
1
2 2
2
( , ) ( / 2) ( / 2) D u v u M v N
1
1
]
+

Fig: a) Perspective plot of an ideal low pass filter transfer
function
Fig : b) Filter displayed as an image
Fig : c) Filter radial cross section
LPF is a type of nonphysical filters and cant be realized
with electronic components and is not very practical.
The drawback of this filter function is a ringing effect which
occurs along the edges of filtered real domain image.
The drawback of this filter function is a ringing effect which
occurs along the edges of the filtered real domain image.
Butterworth low pass filter
The BLPF may be viewed as a transition between ILPF and
GLPF, BLPF of order 2 is a good compromise between effective
low pass filtering and acceptable ringing characteristics.
The transfer function of a Butterworth lowpass filter of order n
with cutoff frequency at distance D
0
from the origin is defined
as:
1
( , )
2
1 ( , ) /
0
H u v
n
D u v D
1
1
]

+
Fig: a) Perspective plot of a Butterworth low pass filter
transfer function
Fig : b) Filter displayed as an image
Fig : Filter radial Cross Sections on order 1 through 4
Smooth transfer function, no sharp discontinuity, no clear
cutoff frequency.
The vertical edges and sharp corners of Ideal low pass filter
are non-realizable in the physical world. Although we can
emulate these filter masks with a computer, side effects such
as blurring and ringing become apparent.
BLPF does not have a sharp discontinuity that establishes a
clear cutoff between passed and frequencies
H(u, v) = 0.5 (down 50% from its maximum value of 1)
when D(u, v) = D
o
.
What is homomorphic filtering? Explain.
Homomorphic filtering is a generalized technique for
signal and image processing, involving a nonlinear mapping to
a different domain in which linear filter techniques are applied,
followed by mapping back to the original domain.
The digital images are created from optical image that consist
of two primary components:
The lighting component
The reflectance component
The lighting component results from the lighting condition
present when the image is captured.
Can change as the lighting condition change.
The reflectance component results from the way the objects in
the image reflect light.
Determined by the intrinsic properties of the object itself.
Normally do not change.
In many applications, it is useful to enhance the reflectance
component, while reducing the contribution from the lighting
component.
Homomorphic filtering is a frequency domain filtering process
that compresses the brightness (from the lighting condition)
while enhancing the contrast (from the reflectance properties
of the object).
The homomorphic filtering process consists of five steps:
A natural log transform (base e)
The Fourier transform
Filtering
The inverse Fourier transform
The inverse log function (exponential)
A simple image model
f(x,y): the intensity is called the gray level for
monochrome image
f(x, y) = i(x, y).r(x, y)
0 < i(x, y) < inf, the illumination
0< r(x, y) < 1, the reflectance
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) { } ( )
{ }
( )
{ }
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
, , ,
, ln , ln , ln ,
, ln , ln ,
( , ) ( , ) ( , )
, , , , ,
, , ,
, exp , exp , exp ,
f x y i x y r x y
z x y f x y i x y r x y
F z x y F i x y F r x y
Z u v F u v F u v
r
i
S u v H u v F u v H u v F u v
r
i
s x y i x y r x y
g x y s x y i x y r x y
1 1
1
1 1 ]
] ]

+
+
+
+

+


Fig : Homomorphic filtering approach for image
enhancement
The illumination component
Slow spatial variations
Low frequency
The reflectance component
Vary abruptly, particularly at the junctions of
dissimilar objects
High frequency
Homomorphic filters
Affect low and high frequencies differently
Compress the low frequency dynamic range
Enhance the contrast in high frequency
Fig : Cross section of a circularly symmetric filter function.
D(u,v) is the distance from the origin of the centered
transform
1
1
H
L

>
<
2 2
( ( , )/ )
0
( , ) ( )[1 ]
c D u v D
H u v e
H L L

+
Explain with necessary diagrams how Histogram modeling
techniques modify an image?
Histogram
Useful to graphically represent the distribution of pixel values
in a histogram.
The histogram of an image represents the relative frequency
of occurrence of the various grey levels in the image.
Plots the number of pixels in the image (vertical axis) with a
particular brightness value (horizontal axis).
Histogram modeling is the basis for numerous powerful spatial
domain processing techniques, especially for image
enhancement.
Histogram Processing
Basic for numerous spatial domain processing techniques
Used effectively for image enhancement
Information inherent in histograms is also useful in image
compression and segmentation
Histogram & Image Contrast
Dark Image
Components of histogram are concentrated on the low
side of the gray scale.
Bright Image
Components of histogram are concentrated on the high
side of the gray scale.
Low-contrast Image
Histogram is narrow and centred towards the middle of
the gray scale.
High-contrast Image
Histogram covers a broad range of the gray scale and the
distribution of pixels is not too far from uniform, with very
few vertical lines being much higher than others
We consider the gray values in the input image and output
image as random variables in the interval [0, 1].
Let p
in
(r) and p
out
(s) denote the probability density of the Gray
values in the input and output images.
If p
in
(r) and T(r) are known, and r = T
-1
(s) satisfies condition
1, we can write (result from probability theory):
( ) ( )
1
( )
dr
p s p r
out
in
ds
r T s
1
1
]

One way to enhance the image is to design a transformation

T(.) such that the gray values in the output is uniformly
distributed in [0, 1], i.e. p
out
(s) = 1, 0s1 .
Histogram modeling techniques modify an image
Fig. Histogram modification
n
p v = f(u) = ( )
xi
u
=0
i x

1
n
n
p
u
i x
f(u)= , n=2, 3,...
1
L-1 x
n
p
x ( ) i
u
=0
i x

u v v'


Uniform
quantizer
f(u)
Approach of derivation
Step1: Equalize the levels of the original image
Step2: Specify the desired pdf and obtain the transformation
function
Step3: Apply the inverse transformation function to the levels
obtained in step 1
Procedure Conclusion:
1. Obtain the transformation function T(r) by calculating the
histogram equalization of the input image.
( ) ( )
0
r
s T r p w dw
r


2. Obtain the transformation function G(z) by calculating
histogram equalization of the desired density function.
( ) ( )
0
z
G z p t dt s
z

3. Obtain the inversed transformation function G

-1

z = G
-1
(s) = G
-1
[T(r)]
4. Obtain the output image by applying the processed gray-level
from the inversed transformation function to all the pixels in
the input image.
Histogram specification is a trial-and-error process
There are no rules for specifying histograms, and one must
resort to analysis on a case-by-case basis for any given
enhancement task.