Application of partition-based median type filters for suppressing noise in images

Abstract

An adaptive median based filter is proposed for removing noise from images. Specifically, the observed sample vector at each pixel location is classified into one of M mutually exclusive partitions, each of which has a particular filtering operation. The observation signal space is partitioned based an the differences defined between the current pixel value and the outputs of CWM (center weighted median) filters with variable center weights. The estimate at each location is formed as a linear combination of the outputs of those CWM filters and the current pixel value. To control the dynamic range of filter outputs, a location-invariance constraint is imposed upon each weighting vector. The weights are optimized using the constrained LMS (least mean square) algorithm. Recursive implementation of the new filter is then addressed. The new technique consistently outperforms other median based filters in suppressing both random-valued and fixed-valued impulses, and it also works satisfactorily in reducing Gaussian noise as well as mixed Gaussian and impulse noise.