The field of mathematical morphology contributes a wide range of operators to image processing, all based around a few simple mathematical concepts from set theory. The operators are particularly useful for the analysis of binary images and common usages include edge detection, noise removal, image enhancement and image segmentation.  ImgX offers a Morphological Filter that takes advantage of this cutting edge technology.

Dilation

Grayscale dilation is used to smooth small dark regions.  It is defined as the maximum of the sum of a local region of an image and a grayscale mask.  The shape of the input mask (known as the structuring element, or SE) is generally chosen to emphasize or de-emphasize elements in the image.

The general effects of performing dilation on a grayscale image are:

1. If all the values in the structuring element are positive, the output image tends to be brighter than the input.
2. Dark elements within the image are reduced or eliminated, depending on how their shapes relate to the structuring element used.

The degree of these effects depends greatly on the shape and values within the structuring element and by the details within the image itself.

Erosion

Grayscale erosion is used to smooth small light regions.  It is defined as the minimum of the difference of a local region of an image and a grayscale mask.  The shape of the input mask (known as the structuring element, or SE) is generally chosen to emphasize or de-emphasize elements in the image.

The general effects of performing erosion on a grayscale image are:

1. If all the values in the structuring element are positive, the output image tends to be darker than the input.
2. Light elements within the image are reduced or eliminated, depending on how their shapes relate to the structuring element used.

The degree of these effects depends greatly on the shape and values within the structuring element and by the details within the image itself.

Opening

Grayscale morphological  opening of an image is defined as the dilation of the erosion of the image.  The result is the reduction of small positive regions within the image.

Closing

Grayscale morphological  closing of an image is defined as the erosion of the dilation of the image.  The result is the reduction of small negative regions within the image.

Top Hat

A grayscale morphological  top hat operation is used to enhance low-contrast, high frequency details within an image.  It is defined as the difference between the original image and the opened image.

 

 

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