Pruning (morphology)

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The pruning algorithm is a technique used in digital image processing based on mathematical morphology. [1] It is used as a complement to the skeleton and thinning algorithms to remove unwanted parasitic components (spurs). In this case 'parasitic' components refer to branches of a line which are not key to the overall shape of the line and should be removed. These components can often be created by edge detection algorithms or digitization. Common uses for pruning include automatic recognition of hand-printed characters. Often times inconsistency in letter writing create unwanted spurs that need to be eliminated for better characterization. [2]

In computer science, digital image processing is the use of computer algorithms to perform image processing on digital images. As a subcategory or field of digital signal processing, digital image processing has many advantages over analog image processing. It allows a much wider range of algorithms to be applied to the input data and can avoid problems such as the build-up of noise and signal distortion during processing. Since images are defined over two dimensions digital image processing may be modeled in the form of multidimensional systems.

Mathematical morphology theory and technique for the analysis and processing of geometrical structures

Mathematical morphology (MM) is a theory and technique for the analysis and processing of geometrical structures, based on set theory, lattice theory, topology, and random functions. MM is most commonly applied to digital images, but it can be employed as well on graphs, surface meshes, solids, and many other spatial structures.

Topological skeleton one-dimensional approximation to a given shape

In shape analysis, skeleton of a shape is a thin version of that shape that is equidistant to its boundaries. The skeleton usually emphasizes geometrical and topological properties of the shape, such as its connectivity, topology, length, direction, and width. Together with the distance of its points to the shape boundary, the skeleton can also serve as a representation of the shape.

Contents

Mathematical Definition

The standard pruning algorithm will remove all branches shorter than a given number of points. If a parasitic branch is shorter than four points and we run the algorithm with n = 4 the branch will be removed. The second step ensures that the main trunks of each line are not shortened by the procedure.

Structuring Elements

The x in the arrays indicates a “don’t care” condition i.e. the image could have either a 1 or a 0 in the spot.

Step 1: Thinning

Apply this step a given (n) times to eliminate any branch with (n) or less pixels.

Step 2: Find End Points

Wherever the structuring elements are satisfied, the center of the 3x3 matrix is considered an endpoint.

Step 3: Dilate End Points

Perform dilation using a 3x3 matrix (H) consisting of all 1's and only insert 1's where the original image (A) also had a 1. Perform this for each endpoint in all direction (n) times.

Step 4: Union of X1 & X3

Take the result from step 1 and union it with step 3 to achieve the final results.

MATLAB Code

 1 %% --------------- 2 % Pruning 3 % --------------- 4 clear;clc; 5  6 % Image read in 7 img=imread('Pruning.tif'); 8  9 b_img_skel=bwmorph(img,'skel',40);10 b_img_spur=bwmorph(b_img_skel,'spur',Inf);11 12 figure('Name','Pruning');13 subplot(1,2,1);14 imshow(b_img_skel);15 title(sprintf('Image Skeleton'));16 subplot(1,2,2);17 imshow(b_img_spur);18 title(sprintf('Skeleton Image Pruned'));

MATLAB Example

In the MATLAB example below, it takes the original image (below left) and skeletonize it 40 times then prunes the image to remove the spurs as per the MATLAB code above. As shown (below right) this removed the majority of all spurs resulting in a cleaner image.

Original ImageImage SkeletonSkeleton Image Pruned
Pruning.tif Pruning MATLAB Example.jpg

See also

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Discrete Skeleton Evolution (DSE) describes an iterative approach to reducing a morphological or topological skeleton. It is a form of pruning in that it removes noisy or redundant branches (spurs) generated by the skeletonization process, while preserving information-rich "trunk" segments. The value assigned to individual branches varies from algorithm to algorithm, with the general goal being to convey the features of interest of the original contour with a few carefully chosen lines. Usually, clarity for human vision is valued as well. DSE algorithms are distinguished by complex, recursive decision-making processes with high computational requirements. Pruning methods such as by structuring element (SE) convolution and the Hough transform are general purpose algorithms which quickly pass through an image and eliminate all branches shorter than a given threshold. DSE methods are most applicable when detail retention and contour reconstruction are valued.

References

  1. Russ, John C. (2011). The image processing handbook (6th ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN   978-1-4398-4045-0.
  2. Gonzalez, Rafael C.; Woods, Richard E. (2008). Digital image processing (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. ISBN   978-0131687288.