Improving particle segmentation from process images with Wiener filtering

Abstract

While there is growing interest in in-line measurements of paper making processes, the factory environment often restricts the acquisition of images. The in-line imaging of pulp suspension is often difficult due to constraints to camera and light positioning, resulting in images with uneven illumination and motion blur. This article presents an algorithm for segmenting fibers from suspension images and studies the performance of Wiener filtering in improving the sub-optimal images. Methods are presented for estimating the point spread function and noise-to-signal ratio for constructing the Wiener filter. It is shown that increasing the sharpness of the image improves the performance of the presented segmentation method. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.