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Pixel Relationships

ND(p)

N8 ( p ) = N D ( p ) N 4 ( p )

A pixel has four horizontal

and vertical neighbors

and four diagonal neighbors

Some of the neighbors may fall outside the image if p is on

the border of the image

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

m-Connectivity
0 1 1
0 1 0
0 0 1

0 1 1
0 1 0
0 0 1

0 1 1
0 1 0
0 0 1

4-connected

8-connected

m-connected

V set of intensity values used to define connectivity. In binary

images,
g , V = {{1}} refers to connectivityy of pixels
p
with value 1.

Two pixels, p and q, with values from V are m-connected if:

(i) q is in N4(p) or
(ii) q is in ND(p) and N4(p) N4(q) is empty.
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A (digital) path (or curve) from pixel p with coordinates

(x,y) to pixel q with coordinates (s,t) is a sequence of
distinct pixels with coordinates
( x0 , y0 ), ( x1 , y1 ),...( xn , yn )

( x0 , y0 ) = ( x, y ) and ( xn , yn ) = ( s, t )
where
and pixels ( xi , yi ) and ( xi +1 , yi +1 ) are connected for 1 i n
In this case, n is the length of the path.

If ( x0 , y0 ) = ( xn , yn ) the path is a closed path.

We can define 4-, 8-, or m-paths depending on type of
connectivity
ti it specified:
ifi d path
th b
between
t
ttop right
i ht and
d
bottom right pixels are 8paths and m-path (previous
slide)

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

If S is a subset of pixels in am image, two pixels p and q

are said to be connected in S if there is a path between
them consisting entirely of pixels in S.
For any p in S,
S the set of pixels that are connected to it in
S is called a connected component of S. if it only has
one connected component, then set S is called a
connected set.

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Let R be a subset of pixels in an image. We call R a region

of the image if R is connected set. Two regions Ri and Rj
are called adjacent if their union forms a connected set.
Regions that are not adjacent, are called disjoint.
Adjacent only if 8-connectivity is
used! A 4-path does not exist.

Suppose that an image has K disjoint regions

Rk, k = 1,K, none of which touches the
image border. Let Ru is the union of all the K
regions and (Ru)c its complement
(complement of points S are points that are
not S).
We call Ru the foreground;
(Ru)c the background.
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copyright 2002H. R. Myler

The boundary (border or contour) of a region R is the set

of points that are adjacent to points in the complement of R.
In other words, the border of a region is the set of pixels in
th region
the
i th
thatt h
have att lleastt one b
background
k
d neighbor.
i hb
Not a member of the
border of the 1-valued
region if 4connectivity is used
between the region
and its background.

Usually, 8connectivityy is
used when
talking about
boundary

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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Component Labeling
Scan image, left to right and
examine all pixels that meet the
membership requirement (value
u
set, V).
)
If you seek 4-connected components:

Examine each pixel along with its previously scanned

4-neighbors.
If pV,
pV then assign a new label to p if u and b are not in
V or assign p the same label as u or b if one of them is
not in V.
Otherwise, choose a label between u and b and note that
the labels are equivalent.
copyright 2002H. R. Myler
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Fundamental Questions we want to ask

about Pixels
Is pixel a equivalent to pixel b?
Is pixel a in the same set as
pixel b?
Is pixel a connected to pixel b?

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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Clustering
Clustering is the process of counting and labeling
of objects within an image.
Clusters consist of pixel groupings that are
related to one another by a predetermined
measure. This measure can be defined as a
distance between clusters or a similarity measure
such as pixel value, or it may be a complex set of
identifiers
and
constraints
that
define
membership in a cluster. The cluster may
ultimately be mapped into a binary image as a
unique object.
copyright 2002H. R. Myler

One of the simplest approaches is to specify a size

in pixels (count) that the clusters should be.
If we assume a binary image, the clustering
algorithm processes each pixel and when one is
found that is nonzero, it becomes part of the first
cluster and is marked. The next nonzero pixel found
is tested to see if the distance between it and the
previous pixel is less than or equal to the desired
cluster pixel size. If it is, it is marked as a member of
the first cluster and the search continues. If it is not,
it becomes the first member of the second cluster
and is marked accordingly. This process continues
until all pixels have been evaluated.
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The example shows a set of similar-sized objects that

have been labeled by grayscale value:

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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Algorithm
i,j,k
n
Image[][]
Num_of_Rows
Num_of_Cols
clustx[]
clusty[]
new_clust
edist
clust_size

Loop variables.
Cluster count variable.
2-D array containing binary image.
Rows in Image
Columns in Image
Temporary storage for x-coordinate
of last pixel in cluster [].
See clustx.
Flag for new cluster.
Euclidean distance.
Size of clusters to be found.

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At the completion of the function, the

Image array contains pixel values that
reflect their membership in the clusters
found that meet the criteria of being
g
clust_size apart.
Clusters of pixels that are larger than
clust_size size will be partitioned into
pieces as they are found in the image.

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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/* Cluster Analysis Function */

cluster()
{
int n, i, j, k;
/* initialize cluster count variable n */
n=0;
/* double-loop through each pixel of binary image */
for(i=0; i < Num_of_Rows; ++i)
for(j=0; j < Num_of_Cols; ++j)
if(n==0){
/* only do for 1st cluster */
if(Image[i][j] !=0){
n=1; /* 1st cluster found */
/* store X coord. */
/
/
clustx[1] = j;
/* store y coord. */
clusty[1] = i;
/* mark pixel as cluster 1 */
Image[i][j] = 1;
}
}
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/* test for membership in all known clusters */

else if(Image[i][j] != 0){
/* marker for new cluster */
new_clust = 0
/* compute Euclidean distance */
for(k = 1; k <= n; ++k){
edist = SQRT((j-clustx[k])2+(i-clusty[k])2);
/* test against cluster size desired */
if(edist
(
<= clust_size){
){
/* set pixel to cluster number **/
Image[i][j] = k;
new_clust = 1;
k = n + 1;
}
}
/* add a new cluster */
if(new_clust == 0 AND n <= 255){
n = n + 1;
clustx[n]
[ ] = x;
;
clusty[n] = y;
Image[i][j] = n;
}
}
}
}

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copyright 2002H. R. Myler

Distance Measures
For pixels p, q, and z,
with coordinates (x,y),
(x y) (s,t)
(s t) and (u,v),
(u v)
D is a distance function or metric if:
a) D(p,q) 0 (D(p,q) = 0 iff p = q),
b) D(p,q) = D(q,p) and
c) D(p,z) D(p,q) + D(q,z)
p

z
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euclidean
De (p,q) = [(x-s)2 + (yt)2]1/2

city-block
D4 (p,q) = | x-s| + |y-t|

checkerboard
D8 (p,q) = max(| x-s| , |yt|)
copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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Arithmetic Operations

Pixel by Pixel +, -, and /.

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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Addition

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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Subtraction

- 25
=

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Not

copyright 2002H. R. Myler

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