Digital Image Processing

Chapter 3:
Image Enhancement in the
Spatial Domain
 Principle Objective of
Enhancement
„ Process an image so that the result will be more
suitable than the original image for a specific
application.

„ Techniques are problem oriented.

„ A method which is quite useful for enhancing an

image may not necessarily be the best approach
for enhancing another images

„ No general theory on image enhancement exists.

 2 domains
„ Spatial Domain (image plane):
„ Techniques are based on direct manipulation of
pixels in an image.
„ Gray level transformations.
„ Histogram processing.
„ Arithmetic/Logic operations.
„ Filtration techniques.

„ Frequency Domain :
„ Techniques are based on modifying the Fourier
transform of an image
 Good images
„ For human visual
„ The visual evaluation of image quality is a highly
subjective process.
„ It is hard to standardize the definition of a good
image.
„ For machine perception
„ The evaluation task is easier.
„ A good image is one which gives the best machine
recognition results.
„ A certain amount of trial and error usually is
required before a particular image
enhancement approach is selected.
Spatial Domain
„ Procedures that operate
directly on pixels.
g(x,y) = T[f(x,y)]
where
„ f(x,y) is the input image

„ g(x,y) is the processed

image
„ T is an operator on f
defined over some
neighborhood of (x,y)
Mask/Filter
„ Neighborhood of a point (x,y)
can be defined by using a
square/rectangular (common
(x,y)
used) or circular subimage
area centered at (x,y)
• „ The center of the subimage
is moved from pixel to pixel
starting at the top of the
corner
 Point Processing
„ Neighborhood = 1x1 pixel
„ g depends on only the value of f at (x,y)
„ T = gray level (or intensity or mapping)
transformation function
s = T(r)
„ Where
„ r = gray level of f(x,y)

„ s = gray level of g(x,y)

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
Thresholding
„ Produce a two-level
(binary) image
 Mask Processing or Filter
„ Neighborhood is bigger than 1x1 pixel
„
„ The value of the mask coefficients determine
the nature of the process
„ Used in techniques
„ Image Sharpening
„ Image Smoothing
 3 basic gray-level
transformation functions
„ Linear function
Negative

nth root
„ Negative and identity
Output gray level, s

transformations
Log
nth power „ Logarithm function
„ Log and inverse-log
transformation
„ Power-law function
Identity Inverse Log
„ nth power and nth root
transformations
Input gray level, r
 Identity function
„ Output intensities
Negative
are identical to input
nth root
intensities.
Output gray level, s

Log
nth power
„ Is included in the
graph only for
completeness.

Identity Inverse Log

Input gray level, r

 Image Negatives
„ An image with gray level in
Negative the range [0, L-1]
nth root where L = 2n ; n = 1, 2…
Output gray level, s

Log
„ Negative transformation :
nth power
s = L – 1 –r
„ Reversing the intensity
levels of an image.
„ Suitable for enhancing white
Identity Inverse Log
or gray detail in dark
background.
Input gray level, r
Example of Negative Image

Original Image showing Negative Image : gives a

a small lesion better vision to analyze
the image
 Log Transformations
s = c log (1+r)
Negative
„ c is a constant
nth root and r ≥ 0
Output gray level, s

Log
„ Log curve maps a narrow
nth power range of low gray-level
values in the input image
into a wider range of
output levels.
Inverse Log
„ Expand dark value to
Identity
enhance details of dark
area.
Input gray level, r
 Log Transformations
„ 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 106 or
higher.
„ We can’t see the significant degree of detail
as it will be lost in the display.
Example of Logarithm Image

Fourier Spectrum with Result after apply the log

range = 0 to 1.5 x 106 transformation
 Power-Law Transformations
s = crγ
„ c and γ are positive
Output gray level, s

constants
„ Power-law curves with
fractional values of γ
map a narrow range of
dark input values into a
wider range of output
values, with the opposite
being true for higher
values of input levels.
Input gray level, r
Plots of s = crγ for various values of γ „ c = γ = 1 D Identity
(c = 1 in all cases) function
 Gamma correction
„ Cathode ray tube (CRT)
devices have an
Monitor
intensity-to-voltage
response that is a
power function, with γ
varying from 1.8 to 2.5
γ = 2.5
Gamma
correction
„ The picture will become
darker.
„ Gamma correction is
Monitor
done by preprocessing
the image before
inputting it to the
monitor with s = cr1/γ
γ =1/2.5 = 0.4
 a b
Another example : MRI c d

(a) a magnetic resonance image

„ The picture is dark

(b) result after power-law

transformation with γ = 0.6, c=1

(c) transformation with γ = 0.4

(best result)

(d) transformation with γ = 0.3

(under acceptable level)
Effect of decreasing gamma
„ When the γ is reduced too much,
the image begins to reduce contrast
to the point where the image
started to have very slight “wash-
out” look, especially in the
background
 a b
Another example c d

(a) image has a washed-out

appearance, it needs a
compression of gray levels
D needs γ > 1
(b) result after power-law
transformation with γ = 3.0
(suitable)
(c) transformation with γ = 4.0
(suitable)
(d) transformation with γ = 5.0
(high contrast, the image
has areas that are too dark,
some detail is lost)
 Piecewise-Linear
Transformation Functions
„ Advantage:
„ Allow more control on the complexity of T(r).

„ Disadvantage:
„ Their specification requires considerably more user
input

„ Contrast stretching.
„ Gray-level slicing.
„ Bit-plane slicing.
Contrast Stretching
„ Increase the dynamic range
of gray levels.
„ (a) Transformation Function
„ (b) a low-contrast image :
result from poor
illumination, lack of dynamic
range in the imaging sensor,
or even wrong setting of a
lens aperture of image
acquisition
„ (c) result of contrast
stretching
„ (d) result of thresholding
Gray-level slicing
„ Highlighting a specific
range of gray levels
„ Display a high value of all
gray levels in the region of
interest and a low value
for all other gray levels
„ (a) transformation highlights
range [A,B] of gray level and
reduces all others to a
constant level
„ (b) transformation highlights
range [A,B] but preserves all
other levels
(c) An image.(d) Result of using
the transformation in (a).
 Bit-plane slicing
„ Highlighting the
Bit-plane 7
contribution made to total
One 8-bit byte
(most significant) image appearance by
specific bits
„ Suppose each pixel is
represented by 8 bits
„ Higher-order bits contain
the majority of the visually
Bit-plane 0 significant data
(least significant)
„ Useful for analyzing the
relative importance played
by each bit of the image
Example
„ The (binary) image for
bit-plane 7 can be
obtained by processing
the input image with a
thresholding gray-level
transformation.
„ Map all levels between 0
and 127 to 0
„ Map all levels between 129
and 255 to 255

An 8-bit fractal image

8 bit planes

Bit-plane 7 Bit-plane 6

Bit- Bit- Bit-

plane 5 plane 4 plane 3

Bit- Bit- Bit-

plane 2 plane 1 plane 0