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A new fusion scheme for multifocus images based on focused pixels detection

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Abstract

In this paper, a new multifocus image fusion scheme based on the technique of focused pixels detection is proposed. First, a new improved multiscale Top-Hat (MTH) transform, which is more effective than the traditional Top-Hat transform in extracting focus information, is introduced and utilized to detect the pixels of the focused regions. Second, the initial decision map of the source images is generated by comparing the improved MTH value of each pixel. Then, the isolated regions removal method is developed and employed to refine the initial decision map. In order to improve the quality of the fused image and avoid the discontinuity in the transition zone, a dual sliding window technique and a fusion strategy based on multiscale transform are developed to achieve the transition zones fusion. Finally, the decision maps of the focused regions and the transition zones are both used to guide the fusion process, and then the final fused image is formed. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the conventional multifocus image fusion methods in both subjective and objective qualities.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.61203321), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No. 2012M521676), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.CDJXS10172205).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Information Engineering and Automation, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Yunnan, Kunming, 650500, People’s Republic of China

    Huafeng Li

  2. College of Automation, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, People’s Republic of China

    Yi Chai & Zhaofei Li

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  1. Huafeng Li
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  2. Yi Chai
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  3. Zhaofei Li
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Correspondence to Huafeng Li.

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Li, H., Chai, Y. & Li, Z. A new fusion scheme for multifocus images based on focused pixels detection. Machine Vision and Applications 24, 1167–1181 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00138-013-0502-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00138-013-0502-4

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