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A Blurring Index for Medical Images

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This study was undertaken to investigate a useful image blurring index. This work is based on our previously developed method, the Moran peak ratio. Medical images are often deteriorated by noise or blurring. Image processing techniques are used to eliminate these two factors. The denoising process may improve image visibility with a trade-off of edge blurring and may introduce undesirable effects in an image. These effects also exist in images reconstructed using the lossy image compression technique. Blurring and degradation in image quality increases with an increase in the lossy image compression ratio. Objective image quality metrics [e.g., normalized mean square error (NMSE)] currently do not provide spatial information about image blurring. In this article, the Moran peak ratio is proposed for quantitative measurement of blurring in medical images. We show that the quantity of image blurring is dependent upon the ratio between the processed peak of Moran's Z histogram and the original image. The peak ratio of Moran's Z histogram can be used to quantify the degree of image blurring. This method produces better results than the standard gray level distribution deviation. The proposed method can also be used to discern blurriness in an image using different image compression algorithms.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported in part by research grant NSC 93-2320-B-075 -007 from the National Science Council and in part by research grant SZI09303003 from Shu-Zen College of Medicine and Management, Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging Technology, Shu-Zen College of Medicine and Management, Luju Shiang, Kaohsiung, 82144, Taiwan

    Tzong-Jer Chen Ph.D., Ya-Hui Shiao & Chun-Chao Chuang

  2. Department of Nuclear Science, National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan

    Keh-Shih Chuang

  3. Biomedical Engineering Center, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Chutung, Hsinchu, Taiwan

    Jen-Hao Chang

Authors
  1. Tzong-Jer Chen Ph.D.
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  2. Keh-Shih Chuang
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  3. Jen-Hao Chang
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  4. Ya-Hui Shiao
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  5. Chun-Chao Chuang
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Correspondence to Tzong-Jer Chen Ph.D..

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Chen, TJ., Chuang, KS., Chang, JH. et al. A Blurring Index for Medical Images. J Digit Imaging 19, 118–125 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10278-005-8736-y

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