The data-driven sparse methods such as synthesis dictionary learning (e.g., K-SVD) and sparsifying transform learning have been proven effective in image denoising. However, they are intrinsically single-scale which can lead to suboptimal results. We propose two methods developed based on wavelet subbands mixing to efficiently combine the merits of both single and multiscale methods. We show that an efficient multiscale method can be devised without the need for denoising detail subbands which substantially reduces the runtime. The proposed methods are initially derived within the framework of sparsifying transform learning denoising, and then, they are generalized to propose our multiscale extensions for the well-known K-SVD and SAIST image denoising methods. We analyze and assess the studied methods thoroughly and compare them with the well-known and state-of-the-art methods. The experiments show that our methods are able to offer good trade-offs between performance and complexity.
In image denoising (IDN) processing, the low-rank property is usually considered as an important image prior. As a convex relaxation approximation of low rank, nuclear norm based algorithms and their variants have attracted significant attention. These algorithms can be collectively called image domain based methods, whose common drawback is the requirement of great number of iterations for some acceptable solution. Meanwhile, the sparsity of images in a certain transform domain has also been exploited in image denoising problems. Sparsity transform learning algorithms can achieve extremely fa…
College of Computer Science Chongqing University（重庆大学计算机学院）
Image denoising is a classical problem in low level computer vision. Model-based optimization methods and deep learning approaches have been the two main strategies for solving the problem. Model-based optimization methods are flexible for handling different inverse problems but are usually time-consuming. In contrast, deep learning methods have fast testing speed but the performance of these CNNs is still inferior. To address this issue, here we propose a novel deep residual learning model that combines the dilated residual convolution and multi-scale convolution groups. Due to the complex pa…
We introduce an integrodifferential extension of the edge-enhancing anisotropic diffusion model for image denoising. By accumulating weighted structural information on multiple scales, our model is the first to create anisotropy through multiscale integration. It follows the philosophy of combining the advantages of model-based and data-driven approaches within compact, insightful, and mathematically well-founded models with improved performance. We explore trained results of scale-adaptive weighting and contrast parameters to obtain an explicit modelling by smooth functions. This leads to a t…
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）；University of Michigan, Ann Arbor（密歇根大学安娜堡分校）
Techniques exploiting the sparsity of images in a transform domain have been effective for various applications in image and video processing. Transform learning methods involve cheap computations and have been demonstrated to perform well in applications such as image denoising and medical image reconstruction. Recently, we proposed methods for online learning of sparsifying transforms from streaming signals, which enjoy good convergence guarantees, and involve lower computational costs than online synthesis dictionary learning. In this work, we apply online transform learning to video denois…
Tampere University of Technology（坦佩雷理工大学）；Noiseless Imaging Ltd（Noiseless Imaging有限公司）
We introduce a paradigm for nonlocal sparsity reinforced deep convolutional neural network denoising. It is a combination of a local multiscale denoising by a convolutional neural network (CNN) based denoiser and a nonlocal denoising based on a nonlocal filter (NLF) exploiting the mutual similarities between groups of patches. CNN models are leveraged with noise levels that progressively decrease at every iteration of our framework, while their output is regularized by a nonlocal prior implicit within the NLF. Unlike complicated neural networks that embed the nonlocality prior within the layer…
Previous works have shown that convolutional neural networks can achieve good performance in image denoising tasks. However, limited by the local rigid convolutional operation, these methods lead to oversmoothing artifacts. A deeper network structure could alleviate these problems, but more computational overhead is needed. In this paper, we propose a novel spatial-adaptive denoising network (SADNet) for efficient single image blind noise removal. To adapt to changes in spatial textures and edges, we design a residual spatial-adaptive block. Deformable convolution is introduced to sample the s…
Technion Institute of Technology（以色列理工学院）；Google Research（谷歌研究院）
Image denoising is a well studied problem with an extensive activity that has spread over several decades. Despite the many available denoising algorithms, the quest for simple, powerful and fast denoisers is still an active and vibrant topic of research. Leading classical denoising methods are typically designed to exploit the inner structure in images by modeling local overlapping patches, while operating in an unsupervised fashion. In contrast, recent newcomers to this arena are supervised and universal neural-network-based methods that bypass this modeling altogether, targeting the inferen…
A new multiscale implementation of non-local means filtering for image denoising is proposed. The proposed algorithm also introduces a modification of similarity measure for patch comparison. The standard Euclidean norm is replaced by weighted Euclidean norm for patch based comparison. Assuming the patch as an oriented surface, notion of normal vector patch is being associated with each patch. The inner product of these normal vector patches is then used in weighted Euclidean distance of photometric patches as the weight factor. The algorithm involves two steps: The first step is multiscale im…
Dictionary learning is a challenge topic in many image processing areas. The basic goal is to learn a sparse representation from an overcomplete basis set. Due to combining the advantages of generic multiscale representations with learning based adaptivity, multiscale dictionary representation approaches have the power in capturing structural characteristics of natural images. However, existing multiscale learning approaches still suffer from three main weaknesses: inadaptability to diverse scales of image data, sensitivity to noise and outliers, difficulty to determine optimal dictionary stru…
In computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) focused on microscopy, denoising improves the quality of image analysis. In general, the accuracy of this process may depend both on the experience of the microscopist and on the equipment sensitivity and specificity. A medical image could be corrupted by both intrinsic noise, due to the device limitations, and, by extrinsic signal perturbations during image acquisition. Nowadays, CAD deep learning applications pre-process images with image denoising models to reinforce learning and prediction. In this work, an innovative and lightweight deep multiscale convol…
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）；University of Michigan（密歇根大学）
Features based on sparse representation, especially using the synthesis dictionary model, have been heavily exploited in signal processing and computer vision. However, synthesis dictionary learning typically involves NP-hard sparse coding and expensive learning steps. Recently, sparsifying transform learning received interest for its cheap computation and its optimal updates in the alternating algorithms. In this work, we develop a methodology for learning Flipping and Rotation Invariant Sparsifying Transforms, dubbed FRIST, to better represent natural images that contain textures with variou…
Denoising is a fundamental imaging problem. Versatile but fast filtering has been demanded for mobile camera systems. We present an approach to multiscale filtering which allows real-time applications on low-powered devices. The key idea is to learn a set of kernels that upscales, filters, and blends patches of different scales guided by local structure analysis. This approach is trainable so that learned filters are capable of treating diverse noise patterns and artifacts. Experimental results show that the presented approach produces comparable results to state-of-the-art algorithms while pr…
In this paper, we propose a numerical strategy to define a multiscale analysis for color and multicomponent images based on the representation of data on a graph. Our approach consists in computing the graph of an image using the psychovisual information and analysing it by using the spectral graph wavelet transform. We suggest introducing color dimension into the computation of the weights of the graph and using the geodesic distance as a means of distance measurement. We thus have defined a wavelet transform based on a graph with perceptual information by using the CIELab color distance. Thi…
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre（德克萨斯大学西南医学中心）
Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) is clinically desirable due to the reduced radiation to patients. However, the quality of LDCT images is often sub-optimal because of the inevitable strong quantum noise. Inspired by their unprecedent success in computer vision, deep learning (DL)-based techniques have been used for LDCT denoising. Despite the promising noise removal ability of DL models, people have observed that the resolution of the DL-denoised images is compromised, decreasing their clinical value. Aiming at relieving this problem, in this work, we developed a more effective denoiser by …
A direct implementation of the bilateral filter [1] requires O(σ_s^2) operations per pixel, where σ_s is the (effective) width of the spatial kernel. A fast implementation of the bilateral filter was recently proposed in [2] that required O(1) operations per pixel with respect to σ_s. This was done by using trigonometric functions for the range kernel of the bilateral filter, and by exploiting their so-called shiftability property. In particular, a fast implementation of the Gaussian bilateral filter was realized by approximating the Gaussian range kernel using raised cosines. Later, it was de…
Multi-Scale Texture Loss for CT denoising with GANs
Department of Diagnostics and Intervention, Radiation Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Umeå University, Sweden（诊断与介入部门、辐射物理、生物医学工程、乌梅大学，瑞典）；Bioinformatics, Department of Engineering, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy（生物信息学、工程部门、罗马生物医学大学，意大利）
