IA&FE (18B12EC421)
Morphological Image Processing
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Contents
Once segmentation is complete,
morphological operations can be used to
remove imperfections in the segmented
image and provide information on the
form and structure of the image
In this lecture we will consider
– What is morphology?
– Simple morphological operations
– Compound operations
– Morphological algorithms
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1, 0, Black, White?
Throughout all of the following slides
whether 0 and 1 refer to white or black is
a little interchangeable
All of the discussion that follows assumes
segmentation has already taken place
and that images are made up of 0s for
background pixels and 1s for object pixels
After this it doesn’t matter if 0 is black,
white, yellow, green…….
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What Is Morphology?
Morphological image processing (or
morphology) describes a range of
image processing techniques that deal
with the shape (or morphology) of
features in an image
Morphological operations are typically
applied to remove imperfections
introduced during segmentation, and so
typically operate on bi-level images
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Quick Example
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
Image after segmentation Image after segmentation and
morphological processing
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Structuring Elements, Hits & Fits
Structuring Element
B
Fit: All on pixels in the
structuring element cover
on pixels in the image
A
Hit: Any on pixel in the
C structuring element covers
an on pixel in the image
All morphological processing operations are based
on these simple ideas
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Structuring Elements
Structuring elements can be any size and
make any shape
However, for simplicity we will use
rectangular structuring elements with their
origin at the middle pixel
0 0 1 0 0
1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
0 0 1 0 0
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Fitting & Hitting
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1
0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1
0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
B1 C0 1 1 1
Structuring
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 Element 1
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
1 1 1
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
A1 Structuring
Element 2
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Fundamental Operations
Fundamentally morphological image
processing is very like spatial
filtering
The structuring element is moved across
every pixel in the original image to give
a pixel in a new processed image
The value of this new pixel depends on
the operation performed
There are two basic
morphological operations:
erosion and dilation
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Erosion
Erosion of image f by structuring element s
is given by f s
The structuring element s is positioned with
its origin at (x, y) and the new pixel value is
determined using the rule:
1if s fits f
g(x, y) = ⎧⎨
0 otherwise
⎩
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1 Erosion Example
Original Image Processed Image With Eroded Pixels
Structuring Element
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Erosion Example
Original Image Processed Image
Structuring Element
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Erosion Example 1
Original image Erosion by 3*3 Erosion by 5*5
square structuring square structuring
element element
Watch out: In these examples a 1 refers to a black pixel!
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Erosion Example 2
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
After erosion
Original
with a disc of
image
radius 10
After erosion After erosion
with a disc of with a disc of
radius 5 radius 20
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What Is Erosion For?
Erosion can split apart joined
objects
Erosion can split
apart
Erosion can strip away extrusions
Watch out: Erosion shrinks objects
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Dilation
Dilation of image f by structuring element s is
given by f ⊕ s
The structuring element s is positioned
with its origin at (x, y) and the new pixel
value is determined using the rule:
1if s hits f
g(x, y) = ⎧⎨
0 otherwise
⎩
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Dilation Example
Original Image Processed Image
Structuring Element
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Dilation Example
Original Image Processed Image With Dilated Pixels
Structuring Element
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Dilation Example 1
Original image Dilation by 3*3 Dilation by 5*5
square structuring square structuring
element element
Watch out: In these examples a 1 refers to a black
pixel!
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Dilation Example 2
Original image After dilation
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
Structuring element
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What Is Dilation For?
Dilation can repair breaks
Dilation can repair intrusions
Watch out: Dilation enlarges objects
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Compound Operations
More interesting morphological
operations can be performed by
performing combinations of erosions and
dilations
The most widely used of these
compound operations are:
– Opening
– Closing
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Opening
The opening of image f by structuring
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
element s, denoted f ○ s is simply an erosion
followed by a dilation
f ○ s = (f s)⊕ s
Original shape After erosion After dilation
(opening)
Note a disc shaped structuring element is used
Opening Example
Original
Image
Image
After
Opening
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Opening Example
Original Image Processed Image
Structuring Element
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Opening Example
Original Image Processed Image
Structuring Element
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Closing
The closing of image f by structuring
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
element s, denoted f • s is simply a dilation
followed by an erosion
f • s = (f ⊕ s) s
Original shape After dilation After erosion
(closing)
Note a disc shaped structuring element is used
Closing Example
Original
Image
Image
After
Closing
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Closing Example
Original Image Processed Image
Structuring Element
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Closing Example
Original Image Processed Image
Structuring Element
Morphological Processing Example
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Morphological Algorithms
Using the simple technique we have
looked at so far we can begin to consider
some more interesting morphological
algorithms
We will look at:
– Boundary extraction
– Region filling
There are lots of others as well though:
– Extraction of connected components
– Thinning/thickening
– Skeletonisation
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Boundary Extraction
Extracting the boundary (or outline) of
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
an object is often extremely useful
The boundary can be given simply as
β(A) = A – (A B)
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Boundary Extraction Example
A simple image and the result of performing
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
boundary extraction using a square 3*3
structuring element
Original Image Extracted Boundary
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Region Filling
Given a pixel inside a boundary,
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
region filling attempts to fill that
boundary with object pixels (1s)
Given a point inside
here, can we fill the
whole circle?
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Region Filling (cont…)
The key equation for region filling is
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
Xk = ( Xk −1 ⊕ B) ∩ A
c
k = 1,2,3.....
Where X0 is simply the starting point inside
the boundary, B is a simple structuring
element and Ac is the complement of A
This equation is applied repeatedly until
Xk is equal to Xk-1
Finally the result is unioned with the
original boundary
Region Filling Step By Step
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Region Filling Example
Images taken from Gonzalez & Woods, Digital Image Processing (2002)
Original Image One Region All Regions
Filled Filled
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Summary
The purpose of morphological processing is
primarily to remove imperfections added
during segmentation
The basic operations are erosion and dilation
Using the basic operations we can perform
opening and closing
More advanced morphological operation can
then be implemented using combinations of
all of these