A Steerable, Multiscale Singularity Index

Abstract

We propose a new steerable, multiscale ratio index for detecting impulse singularities in signals of arbitrary dimensionality. For example, it responds strongly to curvilinear masses (ridges) in images, but minimally to step discontinuities. The ratio index employs directional derivatives of gaussians, making it naturally steerable and scalable. Experiments on real images demonstrate the efficacy of the index for detecting multiscale curvilinear structures. A software version of the index can be downloaded from: http://live.ece.utexas.edu/research/SingularityIndex/SingularityIndex.zip.