SAR image de-noising via grouping-based PCA and guided filter

A novel synthetic aperture radar(SAR)image de-noising method based on the local pixel grouping(LPG)principal component analysis(PCA)and guided filter is proposed.This method contains two steps.In the first step,we process the noisy image by coarse filters,which can suppress the speckle effectively.The original SAR image is transformed into the additive noise model by logarithmic transform with deviation correction.Then,we use the pixel and its nearest neighbors as a vector to select training samples from the local window by LPG based on the block similar matching.The LPG method ensures that only the similar sample patches are used in the local statistical calculation of PCA transform estimation,so that the local features of the image can be well preserved after coefficients shrinkage in the PCA domain.In the second step,we do the guided filtering which can effectively eliminate small artifacts left over from the coarse filtering.Experimental results of simulated and real SAR images show that the proposed method outstrips the state-of-the-art image de-noising methods in the peak signalto-noise ratio(PSNR),the structural similarity(SSIM)index and the equivalent number of looks(ENLs),and is of perceived image quality.

SAR image de-noising based on texture strength and weighted nuclear norm minimization

As synthetic aperture radar（SAR） has been widely used nearly in every field, SAR image de-noising became a very important research field. A new SAR image de-noising method based on texture strength and weighted nuclear norm minimization（WNNM） is proposed. To implement blind de-noising, the accurate estimation of noise variance is very important. So far, it is still a challenge to estimate SAR image noise level accurately because of the rich texture. Principal component analysis（PCA） and the low rank patches selected by image texture strength are used to estimate the noise level. With the help of noise level, WNNM can be expected to SAR image de-noising. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms many excellent de-noising algorithms such as Bayes least squares-Gaussian scale mixtures（BLS-GSM） method, non-local means（NLM） filtering in terms of both quantitative measure and visual perception quality.

Local Orientation Field Based Nonlocal Means Method for Fingerprint Image De-Noising

The de-noising of the fingerprint image is one of the key tasks before the extraction of the minutiae in automatic fingerprint matching. When used for de-noising the fingerprint image, the nonlocal means method can not preserve the local minutiae in the fingerprint image very well. To address this problem, we propose a local orientation field based nonlocal means (NLM-LOF) method in this paper. Experimental results on the simulated and real images show that the proposed method can suppress noise effectively while preserving edges and details in the fingerprint image and it outperforms the state-of-art nonlocal means method in terms of qualitative metrics and visual comparisons.

基于手机拍照结合Image J软件对干辣椒外观品质的分级研究

干辣椒外观形状和色泽是其品质分类的重要指标。目前GB 10465—1989《辣椒干》中对干辣椒外观形状和色泽的检测方式还停留在人工检测阶段,通常受到主观感知、误差、视觉生理等多种因素影响,未形成科学标准化的检测方法。该研究利用手机拍照对干辣椒获取图像,通过Image J软件进行图像处理,提出了一种便捷、快速、准确的干辣椒外观形状相关特征量的测定方法。与游标卡尺法、剪纸法等人工测量相比,该方法更方便快速,可用于干辣椒的长度、宽度、面积等表型指标的测量。同时,通过构建红绿蓝(RGB)色彩模型获得干辣椒的外观颜色特征参数,色泽分选采用R/(G+B)比率为分级依据,结合干辣椒宽长比和面积可以将干辣椒分为优质、合格、不合格3个等级。

From text to image:challenges in integrating vision into ChatGPT for medical image interpretation

Large language models(LLMs),such as ChatGPT developed by OpenAI,represent a significant advancement in artificial intelligence(AI),designed to understand,generate,and interpret human language by analyzing extensive text data.Their potential integration into clinical settings offers a promising avenue that could transform clinical diagnosis and decision-making processes in the future(Thirunavukarasu et al.,2023).This article aims to provide an in-depth analysis of LLMs’current and potential impact on clinical practices.Their ability to generate differential diagnosis lists underscores their potential as invaluable tools in medical practice and education(Hirosawa et al.,2023;Koga et al.,2023).

Stochastic Augmented-Based Dual-Teaching for Semi-Supervised Medical Image Segmentation

Existing semi-supervisedmedical image segmentation algorithms use copy-paste data augmentation to correct the labeled-unlabeled data distribution mismatch.However,current copy-paste methods have three limitations:(1)training the model solely with copy-paste mixed pictures from labeled and unlabeled input loses a lot of labeled information;(2)low-quality pseudo-labels can cause confirmation bias in pseudo-supervised learning on unlabeled data;(3)the segmentation performance in low-contrast and local regions is less than optimal.We design a Stochastic Augmentation-Based Dual-Teaching Auxiliary Training Strategy(SADT),which enhances feature diversity and learns high-quality features to overcome these problems.To be more precise,SADT trains the Student Network by using pseudo-label-based training from Teacher Network 1 and supervised learning with labeled data,which prevents the loss of rare labeled data.We introduce a bi-directional copy-pastemask with progressive high-entropy filtering to reduce data distribution disparities and mitigate confirmation bias in pseudo-supervision.For the mixed images,Deep-Shallow Spatial Contrastive Learning(DSSCL)is proposed in the feature spaces of Teacher Network 2 and the Student Network to improve the segmentation capabilities in low-contrast and local areas.In this procedure,the features retrieved by the Student Network are subjected to a random feature perturbation technique.On two openly available datasets,extensive trials show that our proposed SADT performs much better than the state-ofthe-art semi-supervised medical segmentation techniques.Using only 10%of the labeled data for training,SADT was able to acquire a Dice score of 90.10%on the ACDC(Automatic Cardiac Diagnosis Challenge)dataset.

De-Noising Brain MRI Images by Mixing Concatenation and Residual Learning(MCR)

Brain magnetic resonance images(MRI)are used to diagnose the different diseases of the brain,such as swelling and tumor detection.The quality of the brain MR images is degraded by different noises,usually salt&pepper and Gaussian noises,which are added to the MR images during the acquisition process.In the presence of these noises,medical experts are facing problems in diagnosing diseases from noisy brain MR images.Therefore,we have proposed a de-noising method by mixing concatenation,and residual deep learning techniques called the MCR de-noising method.Our proposed MCR method is to eliminate salt&pepper and gaussian noises as much as possible from the brain MRI images.The MCR method has been trained and tested on the noise quantity levels 2%to 20%for both salt&pepper and gaussian noise.The experiments have been done on publically available brain MRI image datasets,which can easily be accessible in the experiments and result section.The Structure Similarity Index Measure(SSIM)and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio(PSNR)calculate the similarity score between the denoised images by the proposed MCR method and the original clean images.Also,the Mean Squared Error(MSE)measures the error or difference between generated denoised and the original images.The proposed MCR denoising method has a 0.9763 SSIM score,84.3182 PSNR,and 0.0004 MSE for salt&pepper noise;similarly,0.7402 SSIM score,72.7601 PSNR,and 0.0041 MSE for Gaussian noise at the highest level of 20%noise.In the end,we have compared the MCR method with the state-of-the-art de-noising filters such as median and wiener de-noising filters.

A Hybrid De-Noising Method on LASCA Images of Blood Vessels

A de-noising approach is proposed that based on the combination of wiener filtering, nonlinear filtering and wavelet fusion, which de-noise the LASCA (LAser Speckle Contrast Analysis) image of blood vessels in Small Animals. The approach first performs laser spectral contrast analysis on brain blood flow in rats, get their spatial and temporal contrast images. Then, a de-noising filtering method is proposed to deal with noise in LASCA. The image restoration is achieved by applying the proposed admixture filtering, and the subjective estimation and objective estimation are given to the de-noising images. As our experimental results shown, the proposed method provides clearer subjective sense and improved to over 25 db for PSNR.

Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Based on Res2Net-Transformer Automatic Encoding and Decoding

A novel image fusion network framework with an autonomous encoder and decoder is suggested to increase thevisual impression of fused images by improving the quality of infrared and visible light picture fusion. The networkcomprises an encoder module, fusion layer, decoder module, and edge improvementmodule. The encoder moduleutilizes an enhanced Inception module for shallow feature extraction, then combines Res2Net and Transformerto achieve deep-level co-extraction of local and global features from the original picture. An edge enhancementmodule (EEM) is created to extract significant edge features. A modal maximum difference fusion strategy isintroduced to enhance the adaptive representation of information in various regions of the source image, therebyenhancing the contrast of the fused image. The encoder and the EEM module extract features, which are thencombined in the fusion layer to create a fused picture using the decoder. Three datasets were chosen to test thealgorithmproposed in this paper. The results of the experiments demonstrate that the network effectively preservesbackground and detail information in both infrared and visible images, yielding superior outcomes in subjectiveand objective evaluations.

Dendritic Learning-Incorporated Vision Transformer for Image Recognition

Dear Editor,This letter proposes to integrate dendritic learnable network architecture with Vision Transformer to improve the accuracy of image recognition.In this study,based on the theory of dendritic neurons in neuroscience,we design a network that is more practical for engineering to classify visual features.Based on this,we propose a dendritic learning-incorporated vision Transformer(DVT),which out-performs other state-of-the-art methods on three image recognition benchmarks.

Using restored two-dimensional X-ray images to reconstruct the three-dimensional magnetopause

Astronomical imaging technologies are basic tools for the exploration of the universe,providing basic data for the research of astronomy and space physics.The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)carried by the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)aims to capture two-dimensional(2-D)images of the Earth’s magnetosheath by using soft X-ray imaging.However,the observed 2-D images are affected by many noise factors,destroying the contained information,which is not conducive to the subsequent reconstruction of the three-dimensional(3-D)structure of the magnetopause.The analysis of SXI-simulated observation images shows that such damage cannot be evaluated with traditional restoration models.This makes it difficult to establish the mapping relationship between SXIsimulated observation images and target images by using mathematical models.We propose an image restoration algorithm for SXIsimulated observation images that can recover large-scale structure information on the magnetosphere.The idea is to train a patch estimator by selecting noise–clean patch pairs with the same distribution through the Classification–Expectation Maximization algorithm to achieve the restoration estimation of the SXI-simulated observation image,whose mapping relationship with the target image is established by the patch estimator.The Classification–Expectation Maximization algorithm is used to select multiple patch clusters with the same distribution and then train different patch estimators so as to improve the accuracy of the estimator.Experimental results showed that our image restoration algorithm is superior to other classical image restoration algorithms in the SXI-simulated observation image restoration task,according to the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity.The restoration results of SXI-simulated observation images are used in the tangent fitting approach and the computed tomography approach toward magnetospheric reconstruction techniques,significantly improving the reconstruction results.Hence,the proposed technology may be feasible for processing SXI-simulated observation images.

The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)on the SMILE Mission

The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)is part of the scientific payload of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission.SMILE is a joint science mission between the European Space Agency(ESA)and the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)and is due for launch in 2025.SXI is a compact X-ray telescope with a wide field-of-view(FOV)capable of encompassing large portions of Earth’s magnetosphere from the vantage point of the SMILE orbit.SXI is sensitive to the soft X-rays produced by the Solar Wind Charge eXchange(SWCX)process produced when heavy ions of solar wind origin interact with neutral particles in Earth’s exosphere.SWCX provides a mechanism for boundary detection within the magnetosphere,such as the position of Earth’s magnetopause,because the solar wind heavy ions have a very low density in regions of closed magnetic field lines.The sensitivity of the SXI is such that it can potentially track movements of the magnetopause on timescales of a few minutes and the orbit of SMILE will enable such movements to be tracked for segments lasting many hours.SXI is led by the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom(UK)with collaborating organisations on hardware,software and science support within the UK,Europe,China and the United States.

Background removal from global auroral images:Data-driven dayglow modeling

Global images of auroras obtained by cameras on spacecraft are a key tool for studying the near-Earth environment.However,the cameras are sensitive not only to auroral emissions produced by precipitating particles,but also to dayglow emissions produced by photoelectrons induced by sunlight.Nightglow emissions and scattered sunlight can contribute to the background signal.To fully utilize such images in space science,background contamination must be removed to isolate the auroral signal.Here we outline a data-driven approach to modeling the background intensity in multiple images by formulating linear inverse problems based on B-splines and spherical harmonics.The approach is robust,flexible,and iteratively deselects outliers,such as auroral emissions.The final model is smooth across the terminator and accounts for slow temporal variations and large-scale asymmetries in the dayglow.We demonstrate the model by using the three far ultraviolet cameras on the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration(IMAGE)mission.The method can be applied to historical missions and is relevant for upcoming missions,such as the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission.

Method for evaluation of geological strength index of carbonate cliff rocks:Coupled hyperspectral-digital borehole image technique

The deterioration of unstable rock mass raised interest in evaluating rock mass quality.However,the traditional evaluation method for the geological strength index(GSI)primarily emphasizes the rock structure and characteristics of discontinuities.It ignores the influence of mineral composition and shows a deficiency in assessing the integrity coefficient.In this context,hyperspectral imaging and digital panoramic borehole camera technologies are applied to analyze the mineral content and integrity of rock mass.Based on the carbonate mineral content and fissure area ratio,the strength reduction factor and integrity coefficient are calculated to improve the GSI evaluation method.According to the results of mineral classification and fissure identification,the strength reduction factor and integrity coefficient increase with the depth of rock mass.The rock mass GSI calculated by the improved method is mainly concentrated between 40 and 60,which is close to the calculation results of the traditional method.The GSI error rates obtained by the two methods are mostly less than 10%,indicating the rationality of the hyperspectral-digital borehole image coupled evaluation method.Moreover,the sensitivity of the fissure area ratio(Sr)to GSI is greater than that of the strength reduction factor(a),which means the proposed GSI is suitable for rocks with significant fissure development.The improved method reduces the influence of subjective factors and provides a reliable index for the deterioration evaluation of rock mass.

Deep learning-based inpainting of saturation artifacts in optical coherence tomography images

Limited by the dynamic range of the detector,saturation artifacts usually occur in optical coherence tomography(OCT)imaging for high scattering media.The available methods are difficult to remove saturation artifacts and restore texture completely in OCT images.We proposed a deep learning-based inpainting method of saturation artifacts in this paper.The generation mechanism of saturation artifacts was analyzed,and experimental and simulated datasets were built based on the mechanism.Enhanced super-resolution generative adversarial networks were trained by the clear–saturated phantom image pairs.The perfect reconstructed results of experimental zebrafish and thyroid OCT images proved its feasibility,strong generalization,and robustness.

An Intelligent Sensor Data Preprocessing Method for OCT Fundus Image Watermarking Using an RCNN

Watermarks can provide reliable and secure copyright protection for optical coherence tomography(OCT)fundus images.The effective image segmentation is helpful for promoting OCT image watermarking.However,OCT images have a large amount of low-quality data,which seriously affects the performance of segmentationmethods.Therefore,this paper proposes an effective segmentation method for OCT fundus image watermarking using a rough convolutional neural network(RCNN).First,the rough-set-based feature discretization module is designed to preprocess the input data.Second,a dual attention mechanism for feature channels and spatial regions in the CNN is added to enable the model to adaptively select important information for fusion.Finally,the refinement module for enhancing the extraction power of multi-scale information is added to improve the edge accuracy in segmentation.RCNN is compared with CE-Net and MultiResUNet on 83 gold standard 3D retinal OCT data samples.The average dice similarly coefficient(DSC)obtained by RCNN is 6%higher than that of CE-Net.The average 95 percent Hausdorff distance(95HD)and average symmetric surface distance(ASD)obtained by RCNN are 32.4%and 33.3%lower than those of MultiResUNet,respectively.We also evaluate the effect of feature discretization,as well as analyze the initial learning rate of RCNN and conduct ablation experiments with the four different models.The experimental results indicate that our method can improve the segmentation accuracy of OCT fundus images,providing strong support for its application in medical image watermarking.

Restoration of the JPEG Maximum Lossy Compressed Face Images with Hourglass Block-GAN

In the context of high compression rates applied to Joint Photographic Experts Group(JPEG)images through lossy compression techniques,image-blocking artifacts may manifest.This necessitates the restoration of the image to its original quality.The challenge lies in regenerating significantly compressed images into a state in which these become identifiable.Therefore,this study focuses on the restoration of JPEG images subjected to substantial degradation caused by maximum lossy compression using Generative Adversarial Networks(GAN).The generator in this network is based on theU-Net architecture.It features a newhourglass structure that preserves the characteristics of the deep layers.In addition,the network incorporates two loss functions to generate natural and high-quality images:Low Frequency(LF)loss and High Frequency(HF)loss.HF loss uses a pretrained VGG-16 network and is configured using a specific layer that best represents features.This can enhance the performance in the high-frequency region.In contrast,LF loss is used to handle the low-frequency region.The two loss functions facilitate the generation of images by the generator,which can mislead the discriminator while accurately generating high-and low-frequency regions.Consequently,by removing the blocking effects frommaximum lossy compressed images,images inwhich identities could be recognized are generated.This study represents a significant improvement over previous research in terms of the image resolution performance.

SMILE soft X-ray Imager flight model CCD370 pre-flight device characterisation

Throughout the SMILE mission the satellite will be bombarded by radiation which gradually damages the focal plane devices and degrades their performance.In order to understand the changes of the CCD370s within the soft X-ray Imager,an initial characterisation of the devices has been carried out to give a baseline performance level.Three CCDs have been characterised,the two flight devices and the flight spa re.This has been carried out at the Open University in a bespo ke cleanroom measure ment facility.The results show that there is a cluster of bright pixels in the flight spa re which increases in size with tempe rature.However at the nominal ope rating tempe rature(-120℃) it is within the procure ment specifications.Overall,the devices meet the specifications when ope rating at -120℃ in 6 × 6 binned frame transfer science mode.The se rial charge transfer inefficiency degrades with temperature in full frame mode.However any charge losses are recovered when binning/frame transfer is implemented.

Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision during Surgery: Discussing Laparoscopic Images with ChatGPT4—Preliminary Results

Introduction: Ultrafast latest developments in artificial intelligence (ΑΙ) have recently multiplied concerns regarding the future of robotic autonomy in surgery. However, the literature on the topic is still scarce. Aim: To test a novel AI commercially available tool for image analysis on a series of laparoscopic scenes. Methods: The research tools included OPENAI CHATGPT 4.0 with its corresponding image recognition plugin which was fed with a list of 100 laparoscopic selected snapshots from common surgical procedures. In order to score reliability of received responses from image-recognition bot, two corresponding scales were developed ranging from 0 - 5. The set of images was divided into two groups: unlabeled (Group A) and labeled (Group B), and according to the type of surgical procedure or image resolution. Results: AI was able to recognize correctly the context of surgical-related images in 97% of its reports. For the labeled surgical pictures, the image-processing bot scored 3.95/5 (79%), whilst for the unlabeled, it scored 2.905/5 (58.1%). Phases of the procedure were commented in detail, after all successful interpretations. With rates 4 - 5/5, the chatbot was able to talk in detail about the indications, contraindications, stages, instrumentation, complications and outcome rates of the operation discussed. Conclusion: Interaction between surgeon and chatbot appears to be an interesting frontend for further research by clinicians in parallel with evolution of its complex underlying infrastructure. In this early phase of using artificial intelligence for image recognition in surgery, no safe conclusions can be drawn by small cohorts with commercially available software. Further development of medically-oriented AI software and clinical world awareness are expected to bring fruitful information on the topic in the years to come.

Unsupervised Multi-Expert Learning Model for Underwater Image Enhancement

Underwater image enhancement aims to restore a clean appearance and thus improves the quality of underwater degraded images.Current methods feed the whole image directly into the model for enhancement.However,they ignored that the R,G and B channels of underwater degraded images present varied degrees of degradation,due to the selective absorption for the light.To address this issue,we propose an unsupervised multi-expert learning model by considering the enhancement of each color channel.Specifically,an unsupervised architecture based on generative adversarial network is employed to alleviate the need for paired underwater images.Based on this,we design a generator,including a multi-expert encoder,a feature fusion module and a feature fusion-guided decoder,to generate the clear underwater image.Accordingly,a multi-expert discriminator is proposed to verify the authenticity of the R,G and B channels,respectively.In addition,content perceptual loss and edge loss are introduced into the loss function to further improve the content and details of the enhanced images.Extensive experiments on public datasets demonstrate that our method achieves more pleasing results in vision quality.Various metrics(PSNR,SSIM,UIQM and UCIQE) evaluated on our enhanced images have been improved obviously.