Flat-field Correction Method Research Articles

Flat-field methods for color image sensors

The research provides a detailed analysis of the primary sources of non-uniformity in color CMOS image sensors. It introduces the fundamental theory of traditional photon conversion and the main objective and subjective quality evaluation metrics for images. The theoretical foundations of traditional correction methods are also discussed. Based on the photon response characteristics of the color image sensor, a method for flat-field correction of color image sensors is proposed by analyzing the grayscale response curves of each pixel. This method addresses the non-linearity issue in pixel photon response caused by crosstalk between pixels and improves the non-uniformity problem in pixel response.

Online dynamic flat-field correction for MHz microscopy data at European XFEL.

The high pulse intensity and repetition rate of the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (EuXFEL) provide superior temporal resolution compared with other X-ray sources. In combination with MHz X-ray microscopy techniques, it offers a unique opportunity to achieve superior contrast and spatial resolution in applications demanding high temporal resolution. In both live visualization and offline data analysis for microscopy experiments, baseline normalization is essential for further processing steps such as phase retrieval and modal decomposition. In addition, access to normalized projections during data acquisition can play an important role in decision-making and improve the quality of the data. However, the stochastic nature of X-ray free-electron laser sources hinders the use of standard flat-field normalization methods during MHz X-ray microscopy experiments. Here, an online (i.e. near real-time) dynamic flat-field correction method based on principal component analysis of dynamically evolving flat-field images is presented. The method is used for the normalization of individual X-ray projections and has been implemented as a near real-time analysis tool at the Single Particles, Clusters, and Biomolecules and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SPB/SFX) instrument of EuXFEL.

A Novel Low Rank Smooth Flat-Field Correction Algorithm for Hyperspectral Microscopy Imaging.

A flat-field correction method is proposed for multiple measured hyperspectral microscopy imaging in this paper. As the most crucial preprocessing process in quantitative microscopic analysis, flat-field correction solves the uneven illumination caused by vignetting in microscopic images, and guarantees the precision of spatial and spectral information in hyperspectral microscopic imaging. In order to carry out flat-field correction and extract uneven illumination among groups of hyperspectral microscopic data containing hundreds of bands simultaneously, two properties of vignetting have been exploited: i) low-rank property is reflected by little information contained in vignetting; ii) local smoothness can be observed as a gradual change in brightness of vignetting, which is typically equivalent to the sparseness in spatial frequency domain. Combining the two properties above, a novel Low Rank Smooth Flat-field Correction (LRSFC) model modified from common orthogonal basis extraction is proposed, while an optimization is solved based on alternating direction multiplier method (ADMM), obtaining a unique flat-field term with low-rank and smooth properties. Qualitative and quantitative experimental assessments indicate that LRSFC does not add extra cell texture to the extracted flat-field term, whose performance appears prior to other state-of-the-art flat-field correction methods.

Development of Embedded System-Based Lens-Less Microscopy System and Testing on Tissue Samples

In this study, a low cost and portable general-purpose lens-less microscopy system suitable for clinical conditions was designed and its performance was increased with the help of image processing algorithms without using numerical approaches. In order to avoid the noises caused by the light source or the imaging sensor, the flat field correction method was applied to the images in real time and then interpolation was applied to the images. The microscopy system is integrated into the embedded system and it is aimed to display in RGB color space. By applying flat field correction and interpolation to the obtained images in real time, the SNR and contrast value of the images were improved. The success of the imaging system was examined with a standard calibration chart. The improvement obtained by calculating the pixel intensity values for pre-processing and post-processing is shown. Various tissue samples were examined with the system and its success on medical samples was demonstrated. It has been shown on tissue samples that the system reaches 2.5 µm resolution in imaging tissue samples. It has been shown that the proposed system can be used for imaging pathological tissues in intraoperative procedures and can reduce the examination time. In addition, the obtained system has the potential to be used in the examination of other micro-sized medical samples.

Improved method of hydrous mineral detection by latitudinal distribution of 0.7-μm surface reflectance absorption on the asteroid Ryugu

Global multiband images of the C-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu were obtained by the optical navigation camera telescope (ONC-T) onboard Hayabusa2. The 0.7-μm absorption depth of the surface reflectance spectrum, which indicates the presence of hydrous minerals, was not clearly seen on Ryugu using flat field correction data obtained in the preflight measurement. The flat field correction data were obtained in the preflight calibration test only at room temperatures (24‐–28 °C), whereas most observations around Ryugu were performed at a charge-coupled device (CCD) temperature of approximately ‐−30 °C. To obtain higher accuracy measurements, we used a new flat field correction method using the Ryugu surface reflection data. We confirmed that the flat-field patterns are different in high and low temperature conditions. The 0.7-μm absorption map generated by the new method shows that the 0.7-μm absorption near the equator (5°N–5°S) is stronger than that from 30°N to 30°S. We found that the excess of the absorption depth at low latitudes was 0.072%, corresponding to 2.7σ. The spectral analysis also shows that the Ryugu surface at low latitudes is bluer than that at high latitudes and bluer materials tend to show stronger 0.7-μm absorption than redder materials, suggesting that this region has been subjected to less space weathering and less solar heating.

CMOS imager non-uniformity response correction-based high-accuracy spot target localization.

High-accuracy spot target detection based on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, such as astronomy magnitude, medicine, and astronomy photometrics, needs accurate pixel response. Because pixels have different silicon structures and read outputting, each pixel has non-uniformity response with specific illumination. The flat-field correction of a CMOS image sensor is crucial before image processing. In this work, a flat-field model and correction method based on spot scale areas of CMOS image sensor pixel response are proposed. Compared with traditional full-plane calibration, this method aims at spot areas to fit most selected normal pixels' mean response curve with different light intensities and exposure times, which can guarantee spot imaging areas with higher accurate pixel response. Finally, the accuracy of this flat-field correction method is evaluated by the influence on spot target extraction accuracy. The experimental results indicate that using this flat-field correction method can decrease the non-uniform variance from 7.34 (LSB/10 bit) to 1.91 (LSB/10 bit) (improved by 74.1%) and reduce the noise effect on spot extraction accuracy, which improves it from 0.3453 pixel to 0.0116 pixel (1σ). The proposed approach solves the problem of non-uniform pixel response and improves imaging SNR for high-accuracy spot target localization.

Flat-field measuring and correction method for full-disk solar image based on ground glass

Full-disk solar chromosphere and photosphere images are mainly used for monitoring solar activities. Flat-field correction of observation image is a basic work during data processing. In history, it is difficult to obtain uniform area light whose intensity is similar as sun. So flat-field measurement and correction of full-disk solar image usually depend on moving images and mathematical calculation. In order to overcome some disadvantages of traditional methods, such as large calculating quantity, complicated algorithms and difficult to realize automation, we research and design a new flat-field correction method based on ground glass. In this text, sunlight diffused by ground glass in field of view is used as uniform area light for flat-field measuring. We simulated the area light that sun diffused by ground glass, calculated the uniformity of area light in field of view. The uniformity of area light is more than 99%, so it can be used as uniform area light for flat-field measurement directly. We designed flat-field measurement device and formulate steps and methods for flat-field correction. After numerical stimulation and calculation, experiments carried out on solar chromospheres telescope and photosphere telescope separately. The result shows that the flat field obtained in this text could correct high-frequency information such as spots and non-uniformity of light path. Subjected to telescopes limited ability to eliminate stray light, flat-field measurement and correction also causes low-frequency information anamorphous because the angle of diffused light is much larger than normal observation. In order to amend low-frequency information distortion, we use multi-scale morphology filtering and median filtering to extract the low-frequency image from flat-field corrected image. Then the extracted low-frequency image is amended on the basis of theoretical limb darkening image. After flat-field correction and amendment, the correlation coefficient between corrected image and theoretical image is more than 0.99. At last, photosphere image of HMI and chromospheres image of GONG are used as reference images to quantitatively evaluate corresponding result in various field of view. The preprocessing of reference images includes three steps: (1) Centralization and geometric correction of experiment images and reference images; (2) unify reference images’ pixel resolution based on experiment images; (3) according to fitting intensity attenuation of experiment images’ margin, convolve the same Gaussian profile to unify the atmosphere effect on reference images and experiment images. The evaluation result shows that all indexes of corrected image are better than that of origin images. The flat-field measurement and correction method in this text is simple and convenient, and it is easy to realize automation. We suggest that the above mentioned method can be considered as a new method for full-disk solar telescope flat-field measurement and correction. In the future, we need to use diffuser which output angle is smaller during flat-field measurement to shorten exposure time and narrow the exposure time difference between flat-field measurement and normal observation. If a full-disk solar telescope wants to use this method to measure and correct flat-field, the ability of stray light elimination must be considered and optimized during design stage, and the data processing would be more simple and easy.

Evaluation of relative atmospheric correction methods on ASTER VNIR–SWIR data in playa environment

Thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) L1B visible-near infrared and short wave-infrared (VNIR–SWIR) data were used to evaluate various relative calibration methods in playa environments. Internal average relative reflectance (IARR), log residual (LR), flat field (FF), and quick atmospheric correction (QUAC) methods were performed to convert at-sensor radiance data to apparent reflectance over several playas in Birjand, East of Iran. Results were evaluated comparing the calibrated image spectra of known locations and the laboratory spectra of field samples. The comparisons were done using spectral angle mapper (SAM) method and qualitative analysis of the spectral profiles. The SAM results and the qualitative analysis of the spectral profiles showed that spectra provided by applying FF method produced more similarities with laboratory spectra.

Quantitative two-dimensional measurement of oil-film thickness by laser-induced fluorescence in a piston-ring model experiment.

This paper describes advances in using laser-induced fluorescence of dyes for imaging the thickness of oil films in a rotating ring tribometer with optical access, an experiment representing a sliding piston ring in an internal combustion engine. A method for quantitative imaging of the oil-film thickness is developed that overcomes the main challenge, the accurate calibration of the detected fluorescence signal for film thicknesses in the micrometer range. The influence of the background material and its surface roughness is examined, and a method for flat-field correction is introduced. Experiments in the tribometer show that the method yields quantitative, physically plausible results, visualizing features with submicrometer thickness.

Auroral all-sky camera calibration

Abstract. A two-step procedure to calibrate the spectral sensitivity to visible light of auroral all-sky cameras is outlined. Center pixel response is obtained by the use of a Lambertian surface and a standard 45 W tungsten lamp. Screen brightness is regulated by the distance between the lamp and the screen. All-sky flat-field correction is carried out with a 1 m diameter integrating sphere. A transparent Lexan dome at the exit port of the sphere is used to simulate observing conditions at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO). A certified portable low brightness source from Keo Scientific Ltd was used to test the procedure. Transfer lamp certificates in units of Rayleigh per Ångstrøm (R/Å) are found to be within a relative error of 2%. An all-sky camera flat-field correction method is presented with only 6 required coefficients per channel.

Reduction of ring artifacts in CBCT: detection and correction of pixel gain variations in flat panel detectors.

In using flat panel detectors (FPD) for cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), pixel gain variations may lead to structured nonuniformities in projections and ring artifacts in CBCT images. Such gain variations can be caused by change in detector entrance exposure levels or beam hardening, and they are not accounted by conventional flat field correction methods. In this work, the authors presented a method to identify isolated pixel clusters that exhibit gain variations and proposed a pixel gain correction (PGC) method to suppress both beam hardening and exposure level dependent gain variations. To modulate both beam spectrum and entrance exposure, flood field FPD projections were acquired using beam filters with varying thicknesses. "Ideal" pixel values were estimated by performing polynomial fits in both raw and flat field corrected projections. Residuals were calculated by taking the difference between measured and ideal pixel values to identify clustered image and FPD artifacts in flat field corrected and raw images, respectively. To correct clustered image artifacts, the ratio of ideal to measured pixel values in filtered images were utilized as pixel-specific gain correction factors, referred as PGC method, and they were tabulated as a function of pixel value in a look-up table. 0.035% of detector pixels lead to clustered image artifacts in flat field corrected projections, where 80% of these pixels were traced back and linked to artifacts in the FPD. The performance of PGC method was tested in variety of imaging conditions and phantoms. The PGC method reduced clustered image artifacts and fixed pattern noise in projections, and ring artifacts in CBCT images. Clustered projection image artifacts that lead to ring artifacts in CBCT can be better identified with our artifact detection approach. When compared to the conventional flat field correction method, the proposed PGC method enables characterization of nonlinear pixel gain variations as a function of change in x-ray spectrum and intensity. Hence, it can better suppress image artifacts due to beam hardening as well as artifacts that arise from detector entrance exposure variation.

Multimodal wide-field two-photon excitation imaging: characterization of the technique for in vivo applications

We report fast, non-scanning, wide-field two-photon fluorescence excitation with spectral and lifetime detection for in vivo biomedical applications. We determined the optical characteristics of the technique, developed a Gaussian flat-field correction method to reduce artifacts resulting from non-uniform excitation such that contrast is enhanced, and showed that it can be used for ex vivo and in vivo cellular-level imaging. Two applications were demonstrated: (i) ex vivo measurements of beta-amyloid plaques in retinas of transgenic mice, and (ii) in vivo imaging of sulfonated gallium(III) corroles injected into tumors. We demonstrate that wide-field two photon fluorescence excitation with flat-field correction provides more penetration depth as well as better contrast and axial resolution than the corresponding one-photon wide field excitation for the same dye. Importantly, when this technique is used together with spectral and fluorescence lifetime detection modules, it offers improved discrimination between fluorescence from molecules of interest and autofluorescence, with higher sensitivity and specificity for in vivo applications.

用于自适应光学视网膜成像的平场校正方法研究

用于自适应光学视网膜成像的平场校正方法研究

TH‐E‐330A‐03: Reduction of Ring Artifacts in Cone Beam CT: Artifact Detection and Correction for Flat Panel Imagers

Purpose: Defective pixels in a flat panel detector may be characterized by a nonlinear signal response drastically different from those in the neighboring pixels. They could lead to ring artifacts in cone beam CT. In this presentation, we will describe and demonstrate the use of a filter based calibration technique to detect these pixels. In addition, we will employ this technique as a flat field correction method to correct nonlinear signal response. Methods and Materials: To force the signal responses of all pixels to vary smoothly without sudden changes, we acquired images at fixed mAs but with various filtrations. Each filtered image is fitted to a smooth surface whose values are close to those of normal pixels but vary smoothly in the image. The ratios of the surface fit values to the original values were then computed on a pixel‐by‐pixel basis and used to map pixel values during subsequent image acquisition. This mapping would compensate for the nonlinear signal response associated with the defective pixels thus eliminating the ring artifacts. Using the surface fits as the reference, defective pixels were detected by automatic thresholding. Results: Using filter based calibration, defective (∼0.035 %) pixels were successfully detected and corrected for. Therefore, ring artifacts were largely eliminated in cone beam CT images. A reduction in patterned noise artifacts in the projection images was also observed. The automated surface fitting procedure was found to be robust. Conclusions: Although the conventional flat field correction addresses non‐uniform response across the detector, artifacts may still form as the pixel response varies with the beam quality and signal intensity. The filter based calibration procedure was successfully used to detect and correct for these artifacts.This work was supported in part by a research grant EB00117 from the NIH‐NIBIB and a research grant CA104759 from the NIH‐NCI.

An improved method for flat‐field correction of flat panel x‐ray detector

In this Technical Note, the effects of different flat-field techniques are examined for a cesium iodide flat panel detector, which exhibited a slightly nonlinear exposure response. The results indicate that the variable flat-field correction method with the appropriate polynomial fit provides excellent correction throughout the entire exposure range. The averaged normalized variation factor, used to assess the nonuniformity of the flat-field correction, decreased from 30.76 for the fixed correction method to 4.13 for the variable flat-field correction method with a fourth-order polynomial fit for the 60 kVp spectrum, and from 16.42 to 3.97 for the 95 kVp spectrum.

An iterative method for flat-field correction of digital radiography with arbitrary detector panel position

An iterative method for flat-field correction of digital radiography with arbitrary detector panel position

Limitations to flat-field correction methods when using an X-ray spectrum

Flat-field correction methods are implemented in order to eliminate non-uniformities in X-ray imaging sensors. If the compensation is perfect, then the remaining variations result from noise over the detector area. The efficiency of the compensation is reduced when an object is placed in the beam. A principle cause of this effect is believed to be the spectrum hardening caused by the object. In a normal application the correction factors are calculated for a certain spectrum, meaning that the average of the correction for the individual photon energies are used. If the composition of the spectrum changes the correction factor will also change. In this paper, we present a theory for the sensitivity of the gain constants on X-ray spectra. The theory is supported by experimental data obtained with X-ray spectra and monochromatic X-rays.