Path-based mathematical morphology on tensor fields

Abstract

Traditional path-based morphology allows finding long, approximately straight, paths in images. Although originally applied only to scalar images, we show how this can be a very good fit for tensor fields. We do this by constructing directed graphs representing such data, and then modifying the traditional path opening algorithmto work on these graphs. Cycles are dealt with by finding strongly connected components in the graph. Some examples of potential applications are given, including path openings that are not limited to a specific set of orientations.