Self-similar anisotropic texture analysis: the hyperbolic wavelet transform contribution

IEEE Trans Image Process. 2013 Nov;22(11):4353-63. doi: 10.1109/TIP.2013.2272515. Epub 2013 Jul 9.

Abstract

Textures in images can often be well modeled using self-similar processes while they may simultaneously display anisotropy. The present contribution thus aims at studying jointly selfsimilarity and anisotropy by focusing on a specific classical class of Gaussian anisotropic selfsimilar processes. It will be first shown that accurate joint estimates of the anisotropy and selfsimilarity parameters are performed by replacing the standard 2D-discrete wavelet transform with the hyperbolic wavelet transform, which permits the use of different dilation factors along the horizontal and vertical axes. Defining anisotropy requires a reference direction that needs not a priori match the horizontal and vertical axes according to which the images are digitized; this discrepancy defines a rotation angle. Second, we show that this rotation angle can be jointly estimated. Third, a nonparametric bootstrap based procedure is described, which provides confidence intervals in addition to the estimates themselves and enables us to construct an isotropy test procedure, which can be applied to a single texture image. Fourth, the robustness and versatility of the proposed analysis are illustrated by being applied to a large variety of different isotropic and anisotropic self-similar fields. As an illustration, we show that a true anisotropy built-in self-similarity can be disentangled from an isotropic self-similarity to which an anisotropic trend has been superimposed.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Anisotropy
  • Image Enhancement / methods
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
  • Pattern Recognition, Automated / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Subtraction Technique*
  • Wavelet Analysis*