Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filters
Abstract Background Rician noise, bias fields and blur are the common distortions that degrade MRI images during acquisition. Blur is unique in comparison to Rician noise and bias fields because it can be introduced into an image beyond the acquisition stage such as postacquisition processing and th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-06-01
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| Series: | BioMedical Engineering OnLine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12938-018-0514-4 |
| _version_ | 1818310885307842560 |
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| author | Michael E. Osadebey Marius Pedersen Douglas L. Arnold Katrina E. Wendel-Mitoraj |
| author_facet | Michael E. Osadebey Marius Pedersen Douglas L. Arnold Katrina E. Wendel-Mitoraj |
| author_sort | Michael E. Osadebey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Rician noise, bias fields and blur are the common distortions that degrade MRI images during acquisition. Blur is unique in comparison to Rician noise and bias fields because it can be introduced into an image beyond the acquisition stage such as postacquisition processing and the manifestation of pathological conditions. Most current blur assessment algorithms are designed and validated on consumer electronics such as television, video and mobile appliances. The few algorithms dedicated to medical images either requires a reference image or incorporate manual approach. For these reasons it is difficult to compare quality measures from different images and images with different contents. Furthermore, they will not be suitable in environments where large volumes of images are processed. In this report we propose a new blind blur assessment method for different types of MRI images and for different applications including automated environments. Methods Two copies of the test image are generated. Edge map is extracted by separately convolving each copy of the test image with two parallel difference of Gaussian filters. At the start of the multiscale representation, the initial output of the filters are equal. In subsequent scales of the multiscale representation, each filter is tuned to different operating parameters over the same fixed range of Gaussian scales. The filters are termed low and high energy filters based on their characteristics to successively attenuate and highlight edges over the range of multiscale representation. Quality score is predicted from the distance between the normalized mean of the edge maps at the final output of the filters. Results The proposed method was evaluated on cardiac and brain MRI images. Performance evaluation shows that the quality index has very good correlation with human perception and will be suitable for application in routine clinical practice and clinical research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T07:53:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8df661f7b73842a9988f59072881f4cd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1475-925X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T07:53:10Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BioMedical Engineering OnLine |
| spelling | doaj.art-8df661f7b73842a9988f59072881f4cd2022-12-21T23:54:37ZengBMCBioMedical Engineering OnLine1475-925X2018-06-0117112210.1186/s12938-018-0514-4Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filtersMichael E. Osadebey0Marius Pedersen1Douglas L. Arnold2Katrina E. Wendel-Mitoraj3NeuroRx Research Inc, MontrealDepartment of Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyMontreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill UniversityBrainCare OyAbstract Background Rician noise, bias fields and blur are the common distortions that degrade MRI images during acquisition. Blur is unique in comparison to Rician noise and bias fields because it can be introduced into an image beyond the acquisition stage such as postacquisition processing and the manifestation of pathological conditions. Most current blur assessment algorithms are designed and validated on consumer electronics such as television, video and mobile appliances. The few algorithms dedicated to medical images either requires a reference image or incorporate manual approach. For these reasons it is difficult to compare quality measures from different images and images with different contents. Furthermore, they will not be suitable in environments where large volumes of images are processed. In this report we propose a new blind blur assessment method for different types of MRI images and for different applications including automated environments. Methods Two copies of the test image are generated. Edge map is extracted by separately convolving each copy of the test image with two parallel difference of Gaussian filters. At the start of the multiscale representation, the initial output of the filters are equal. In subsequent scales of the multiscale representation, each filter is tuned to different operating parameters over the same fixed range of Gaussian scales. The filters are termed low and high energy filters based on their characteristics to successively attenuate and highlight edges over the range of multiscale representation. Quality score is predicted from the distance between the normalized mean of the edge maps at the final output of the filters. Results The proposed method was evaluated on cardiac and brain MRI images. Performance evaluation shows that the quality index has very good correlation with human perception and will be suitable for application in routine clinical practice and clinical research.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12938-018-0514-4BlurEdgesDifference of GaussianMulti-scale representationLocal contrast feature imageSharpness |
| spellingShingle | Michael E. Osadebey Marius Pedersen Douglas L. Arnold Katrina E. Wendel-Mitoraj Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filters BioMedical Engineering OnLine Blur Edges Difference of Gaussian Multi-scale representation Local contrast feature image Sharpness |
| title | Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filters |
| title_full | Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filters |
| title_fullStr | Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filters |
| title_short | Blind blur assessment of MRI images using parallel multiscale difference of Gaussian filters |
| title_sort | blind blur assessment of mri images using parallel multiscale difference of gaussian filters |
| topic | Blur Edges Difference of Gaussian Multi-scale representation Local contrast feature image Sharpness |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12938-018-0514-4 |
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