Method for sharpening a digital image with signal to noise estimation
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of sharpening a digital image having image pixels according to its noise content, comprising the steps of:
- generating a noisy pixel belief map corresponding spatially to the image pixels having belief values indicating the likelihood that the modulation about respective pixels are due to system noise, said noisy pixel belief map being based upon both a local noise measure of pixels of the digital image and a noise table separate from said digital image; and
using the noisy pixel belief map to vary a variable parameter of an image sharpener;
wherein the step of generating a noisy pixel belief map comprises the steps of;
creating a low resolution version of the digital image;
generating a low resolution noisy pixel belief map from the low resolution version of the digital image; and
interpolating the low resolution noisy pixel belief map to produce the noisy pixel belief map.
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Abstract
A method of sharpening a digital image having image pixels according to its noise content, includes the steps of providing an image sharpener having a variable parameter of sharpening; generating a noisy pixel belief map corresponding spatially to the image pixels having belief values indicating the likelihood that the modulation about respective pixels are due to system noise; and using the noisy pixel belief map to vary the parameter of the image sharpener.
36 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of sharpening a digital image having image pixels according to its noise content, comprising the steps of:
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generating a noisy pixel belief map corresponding spatially to the image pixels having belief values indicating the likelihood that the modulation about respective pixels are due to system noise, said noisy pixel belief map being based upon both a local noise measure of pixels of the digital image and a noise table separate from said digital image; and
using the noisy pixel belief map to vary a variable parameter of an image sharpener;
wherein the step of generating a noisy pixel belief map comprises the steps of;
creating a low resolution version of the digital image;
generating a low resolution noisy pixel belief map from the low resolution version of the digital image; and
interpolating the low resolution noisy pixel belief map to produce the noisy pixel belief map. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of sharpening a digital image having image pixels according to its noise content, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing an image sharpener having a variable parameter of sharpening;
b) generating a noisy pixel belief map corresponding spatially to the image pixels having belief values indicating the likelihood that the modulation about respective pixels are due to system noise; and
c) using the noisy pixel belief map to vary the parameter of the image sharpener;
wherein the step of generating a noisy pixel belief map comprises the steps of;
b1) creating a low resolution version of the digital image;
b2) generating a low resolution noisy pixel belief map from the low resolution version of the digital image; and
b3) interpolating the low resolution noisy pixel belief map to produce the noisy pixel belief map. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of sharpening a digital image having image pixels according to its noise content, comprising the steps of:
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subsampling said digital image to a predetermined number of subsampling levels to provide a subsampled image;
generating a noisy pixel belief map from said subsampled image, said noisy pixel belief map being based upon a local noise measure of pixels of the digital image, a noise table separate from said digital image, and said number of subsampling levels;
using the noisy pixel belief map to vary a variable parameter of an image sharpener; and
applying said image sharpener to said digital image;
wherein said generating further comprises;
generating a low resolution noisy pixel belief map from said subsampled image; and
interpolating said low resolution noisy pixel belief map to produce said noisy pixel belief map. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification