The

IMAGE
PROCESSING
Handbook
Third Edition

John C. Russ
Materials Science and Engineering Department
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Russ, John C.
The image processing handbook / John C. Russ. -- 3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8493-2532-3 (alk. paper)
1. Image processing. I. Title
TA1637.R87 1998
621.367 98-35413
CIP

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 Introduction

I mage processing is used for two somewhat different pur-

poses:
a) improving the visual appearance of images to a human
viewer, and
b) preparing images for measurement of the features and struc-
tures present.
The techniques that are appropriate for each of these tasks are
not always the same, but there is considerable overlap. This
book covers methods that are used for both purposes.
To do the best possible job, it helps to know about the uses to
which the processed images will be put. For visual enhancement,
this means having some familiarity with the human visual
process, and an appreciation of what cues the viewer responds
to in images. It also is useful to know about the printing process,
since many images are processed in the context of reproduction
or transmission.
The measurement of images generally requires that features be
well defined, either by edges or unique (and uniform) bright-
ness or color, texture, or some combination of these factors. The
types of measurements that will be performed on entire scenes
or individual features are important in determining the appro-
priate processing steps.
It may help to recall that image processing, like food processing
or word processing, does not reduce the amount of data present
but simply rearranges it. Some arrangements may be more ap-
pealing to the senses, and some may convey more meaning, but
these two criteria may not be identical nor use identical methods.
This handbook presents an extensive collection of image pro-
cessing tools, so that the user of computer-based systems can
both understand those methods provided in packaged software,
and program those additions which may be needed for partic-
ular applications. Comparisons are presented of different algo-
rithms that may be used for similar purposes, using a selec-
tion of representative pictures from light and electron micro-
scopes, as well as macroscopic, satellite and astronomical
images.

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

 In revising the book for this new edition, I have tried to respond
to some of the comments and requests of readers and reviewers.
New chapters on the measurement of images and the subsequent
interpretation of the data were added in the second edition, and
now there is a major new section on the important subject of sur-
face images which includes both processing and measurement.
The sections on the ever-advancing hardware for image capture
and printing have been expanded and information added on the
newest technologies. More examples have been added in every
chapter, and the reference list expanded and brought up to date.
However, I have resisted suggestions to put “more of the math”
into the book. There are excellent texts on image processing,
compression, mathematical morphology, etc., that provide as
much rigor and as many derivations as may be needed. Many of
them are referenced here. But the thrust of this book remains
teaching by example. Few people learn the principles of image
processing from the equations. Just as we use images to “do sci-
ence,” so most of us use images to learn about many things, in-
cluding imaging itself. The hope is that by seeing what various
operations do to representative images, you will discover how
and why to use them. Then, if you need to look up the mathe-
matical foundations, they will be easier to understand.
The reader is encouraged to use this book in concert with a real
source of images and a computer-based system, and to freely ex-
periment with different methods to determine which are most
appropriate for his or her particular needs. Selection of image
processing tools to explore images when you don’t know the
contents beforehand is a much more difficult task than using
tools to make it easier for another viewer or a measurement pro-
gram to see the same things you have discovered. It places
greater demand on computing speed and the interactive nature
of the interface. But it particularly requires that you become a
very analytical observer of images. If you can learn to see what
the computer sees, you will become a better viewer and obtain
the best possible images, suitable for further processing.
To facilitate this hands-on learning process, I have collaborated
with my son, Chris Russ, to produce a CD-ROM that can be used as
a companion to this book. The Image Processing Tool Kit contains
more than 200 images, many of them the examples from this book,
plus over 100 Photoshop-compatible plug-ins that implement many
of the algorithms discussed here. These can be used with Adobe
Photoshop® or any of the numerous programs (some of them free)
that implement the Photoshop plug-in interface, on either Macin-
tosh or Windows computers. Information about the CD-ROM is
available on-line at http://members.AOL.com/ImagProcTK/.

Acknowledgments
All of the image processing and the creation of the resulting figures
included in this book were performed on an Apple Macintosh®

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

computer. Many of the images were acquired directly from vari-
ous microscopes and other sources using color or monochrome
video cameras and digitized directly into the computer. Others
were digitized using a digital camera (Polaroid DMC), and some
were obtained using a 24-bit color scanner, often from images
supplied by many coworkers and researchers. These are ac-
knowledged wherever the origin of an image could be deter-
mined. A few examples, taken from the literature, are individu-
ally referenced.
The book was produced by directly making color-separated films
with an imagesetter without intermediate hard copy, negatives
or prints of the images, etc. Amongst other things, this means
that the author must bear full responsibility for any errors, since
no traditional typesetting was involved. (It has also forced me to
learn more than I ever hoped to know about some aspects of
this technology!) However, going directly from disk file to print
also shortens the time needed in production and helps to keep
costs down, while preserving the full quality of the images.
Special thanks are due to Chris Russ (Reindeer Games, Inc.,
Asheville, NC) who has helped to program many of these algo-
rithms and contributed invaluable comments, and to Helen
Adams, who has proofread many pages, endured many discus-
sions, and provided the moral support that makes writing pro-
jects such as this possible.
John C. Russ
Raleigh, NC

The author, in stereo.

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

 Contents

1 Acquiring Images
Human reliance on images for information
Using video cameras to acquire images
Electronics and bandwidth limitations
High resolution imaging
Color imaging
Digital cameras
Color spaces
Color displays
Image types
Range imaging
Multiple images
Stereoscopy
Imaging requirements

2 Printing and Storage

Printing
Dots on paper
Color printing
Printing hardware
Film recorders
File storage
Optical storage media
Magnetic recording
Databases for images
Browsing and thumbnails
Lossless coding
Color palettes
Lossy compression
Other compression methods
Digital movies

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

 3 Correcting Imaging Defects
Noisy images
Neighborhood averaging
Neighborhood ranking
Other neighborhood noise reduction methods
Maximum entropy
Contrast expansion
Nonuniform illumination
Fitting a background function
Rank leveling
Color shading
Nonplanar views
Computer graphics
Geometrical distortion
Alignment
Morphing

4 Image Enhancement
Contrast manipulation
Histogram equalization
Laplacian
Derivatives
The Sobel and Kirsch operators
Rank operations
Texture
Fractal analysis
Implementation notes
Image math
Subtracting images
Multiplication and division

5 Processing Images
in Frequency Space
Some necessary mathematical preliminaries
What frequency space is all about
The Fourier transform
Fourier transforms of real functions
Frequencies and orientations
Measuring images in the frequency domain
Orientation and spacing
Preferred orientation
Texture and fractals

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

 Filtering images
Isolating periodic noise
Masks and filters
Selection of periodic information
Convolution and correlation
Fundamentals of convolution
Imaging system characteristics
Removing motion blur and other defects
Template matching and correlation
Autocorrelation
Conclusion

6 Segmentation and
Thresholding
Thresholding
Multiband images
Two-dimensional thresholds
Multiband thresholding
Thresholding from texture
Multiple thresholding criteria
Textural orientation
Accuracy and reproducibility
Including position information
Selective histograms
Boundary lines
Contours
Image representation
Other segmentation methods
The general classification problem

7 Processing Binary
Images
Boolean operations
Combining Boolean operations
Masks
From pixels to features
Boolean logic with features
Selecting features by location
Double thresholding
Erosion and dilation
Opening and closing
Isotropy

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

 Measurements using erosion and dilation
Extension to grey scale images
Coefficient and depth parameters
Examples of use
The custer
Skeletonization
Boundary lines and thickening
Euclidean distance map
Watershed segmentation
Ultimate eroded points
Fractal dimension measurement
Medial axis transform
Cluster analysis

8 Image Measurements
Brightness measurements
Determining location
Orientation
Neighbor relationships
Alignment
Counting features
Special counting procedures
Feature size
Caliper dimensions
Perimeter
Ellipse fitting
Describing shape
Fractal dimension
Harmonic analysis
Topology
Feature identification
Three-dimensional measurements

9 3D Image Acquisition
Volume imaging vs. sections
Basics of reconstruction
Algebraic reconstruction methods
Maximum entropy
Defects in reconstructed images
Imaging geometries
Three-dimensional tomography
High-resolution tomography

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

10 3D Image Visualization
Sources of 3D data
Serial sections
Optical sectioning
Sequential removal
Stereo
3D data sets
Slicing the data set
Arbitrary section planes
The use of color
Volumetric display
Stereo viewing
Special display hardware
Ray tracing
Reflection
Surfaces
Multiply connected surfaces
Image processing in 3D
Measurements on 3D images
Conclusion

11 Imaging Surfaces
Producing surfaces
Devices that image surfaces by
physical contact
Noncontacting measurements
Microscopy of surfaces
Surface composition imaging
Processing of range images
Processing of composition maps
Data presentation and visualization
Rendering and visualization
Analysis of surface data
Profile measurements
The Birmingham measurement suite
New approaches — topographic analysis
and fractal dimensions

References

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC