1.

11 Image sensing and Acquisition:

The types of images in which we are interested are generated by the combination of an

Fig:Single Image sensor

Fig: Line Sensor

Fig: Array sensor

“illumination” source and the reflection or absorption of energy from that source by the
elements of the “scene” being imaged. We enclose illumination and scene in quotes to
emphasize the fact that they are considerably more general than the familiar situation in
which a visible light source illuminates a common everyday 3-D (three-dimensional) scene.
For example, the illumination may originate from a source of electromagnetic energy such as
radar, infrared, or X-ray energy. But, as noted earlier, it could originate from less traditional
sources, such as ultrasound or even a computer-generated illumination pattern. Similarly, the
scene elements could be familiar objects, but they can just as easily be molecules, buried rock
formations, or a human brain. We could even image a source, such as acquiring images of the
sun. Depending on the nature of the source, illumination energy is reflected from, or
transmitted through, objects. An example in the first category is light reflected from a planar
surface. An example in the second category is when X-rays pass through a patient’s body for
thepurpose of generating a diagnostic X-ray film. In some applications, the reflected or
transmitted energy is focused onto a photo converter (e.g., a phosphor screen), which
converts the energy into visible light. Electron microscopy and some applications of gamma
imaging use this approach. The idea is simple: Incoming energy is transformed into a voltage
by the combination of input electrical power and sensor material that is responsive to the
particular type of energy being detected. The output voltage waveform is the response of the
sensor(s), and a digital quantity is obtained from each sensor by digitizing its response. In this
section, we look at the principal modalities for image sensing and generation.
(i)Image Acquisition using a Single sensor:
The components of a single sensor. Perhaps the most familiar sensor of this type is the
photodiode, which is constructed of silicon materials and whose output voltage waveform is
proportional to light. The use of a filter in front of a sensor improves selectivity. For example,
a green (pass) filter in front of a light sensor favors light in the green band of the color
spectrum. As a consequence, the sensor output will be stronger for green light than for other
components in the visible spectrum.

In order to generate a 2-D image using a single sensor, there has to be relative displacements
in both the x- and y-directions between the sensor and the area to be imaged. Figure shows an
arrangement used in high-precision scanning, where a film negative is mounted onto a drum
whose mechanical rotation provides displacement in one dimension. The single sensor is
mounted on a lead screw that provides motion in the perpendicular direction. Since
mechanical motion can be controlled with high precision, this method is an inexpensive (but
slow) way to obtain high-resolution images. Other similar mechanical arrangements use a flat
bed, with the sensor moving in two linear directions. These types of mechanical digitizers
sometimes are referred to as microdensitometers.
(ii)Image Acquisition using a Sensor strips:
A geometry that is used much more frequently than single sensors consists of an in-line
arrangement of sensors in the form of a sensor strip, shows. The strip provides imaging
elements in one direction. Motion perpendicular to the strip provides imaging in the other
direction. This is the type of arrangement used in most flat bed scanners. Sensing devices
with 4000 or more in-line sensors are possible. In-line sensors are used routinely in airborne
imaging applications, in which the imaging system is mounted on an aircraft that flies at a
constant altitude and speed over the geographical area to be imaged. One dimensional
imaging sensor strips that respond to various bands of the electromagnetic spectrum are
mounted perpendicular to the direction of flight. The imaging strip gives one line of an image
at a time, and the motion of the strip completes the other dimension of a two-dimensional
image. Lenses or other focusing schemes are used to project area to be scanned onto the
sensors. Sensor strips mounted in a ring configuration are used in medical and industrial
imaging to obtain cross-sectional (“slice”) images of 3-D objects.

(iii)Image Acquisition using a Sensor Arrays:

The individual sensors arranged in the form of a 2-D array. Numerous electromagnetic and
some ultrasonic sensing devices frequently are arranged in an array format. This is also the
predominant arrangement found in digital cameras. A typical sensor for these cameras is a
CCD array, which can be manufactured with a broad range of sensing properties and can be
packaged in rugged arrays of elements or more. CCD sensors are used widely in digital
cameras and other light sensing instruments. The response of each sensor is proportional to
the integral of the light energy projected onto the surface of the sensor, a property that is used
in astronomical and other applications requiring low noise images. Noise reduction is
achieved by letting the sensor integrate the input light signal over minutes or even hours. The
two dimensional, its key advantage is that a complete image can be obtained by focusing the
energy pattern onto the surface of the array. Motion obviously is not necessary, as is the case
with the sensor arrangements This figure shows the energy from an illumination source being
reflected from a scene element, but, as mentioned at the beginning of this section, the energy
also could be transmitted through the scene elements. The first function performed by the
imaging system is to collect the incoming energy and focus it onto an image plane. If the
illumination is light, the front end of the imaging system is a lens, which projects the viewed
scene onto the lens focal plane. The sensor array, which is coincident with the focal plane,
produces outputs proportional to the integral of the light received at each sensor. Digital and
analog circuitry sweep these outputs and convert them to a video signal, which is then
digitized by another section of the imaging system.

1.12 Image sampling and Quantization:

To create a digital image, we need to convert the continuous sensed data into digital form.
This involves two processes: sampling and quantization. A continuous image, f(x, y), that we
want to convert to digital form. An image may be continuous with respect to the x- and y-
coordinates, and also in amplitude. To convert it to digital form, we have to sample the
function in both coordinates and in amplitude. Digitizing the coordinate values is called
sampling. Digitizing the amplitude values is called quantization.

1.13 Digital Image representation:

Digital image is a finite collection of discrete samples (pixels) of any observable object. The
pixels represent a two- or higher dimensional “view” of the object, each pixel having its own
discrete value in a finite range. The pixel values may represent the amount of visible light,
infra red light, absortation of x-rays, electrons, or any other measurable value such as
ultrasound wave impulses. The image does not need to have any visual sense; it is sufficient
that the samples form a two-dimensional spatial structure that may be illustrated as an image.
The images may be obtained by a digital camera, scanner, electron microscope, ultrasound
stethoscope, or any other optical or non-optical sensor. Examples of digital image are:
 digital photographs
 satellite images
 radiological images (x-rays, mammograms)
 binary images, fax images, engineering drawings
Computer graphics, CAD drawings, and vector graphics in general are not considered in this
course even though their reproduction is a possible source of an image. In fact, one goal of
intermediate level image processing may be to reconstruct a model (e.g. vector
representation) for a given digital image.
1.14 Digitization:
Digital image consists of N M pixels, each represented by k bits. A pixel can thus have 2k
different values typically illustrated using a different shades of gray, see Figure . In practical
applications, the pixel values are considered as integers varying from 0 (black pixel) to 2 k-1
(white pixel).

Fig: Example of a digital Image

The images are obtained through a digitization process, in which the object is covered by a
two-dimensional sampling grid. The main parameters of the digitization are:
 Image resolution: the number of samples in the grid.
 pixel accuracy: how many bits are used per sample.

These two parameters have a direct effect on the image quality but also to the storage size of
the image (Table 1.1). In general, the quality of the images increases as the resolution and the
bits per pixel increase. There are a few exceptions when reducing the number of bits
increases the image quality because of increasing the contrast. Moreover, in an image with a
very high resolution only very few gray-levels are needed. In some applications it is more
important to have a high resolution for detecting details in the image whereas in other
applications the number of different levels (or colors) is more important for better outlook of
the image. To sum up, if we have a certain amount of bits to allocate for an image, it makes
difference how to choose the digitization parameters.
 Fig: Effect of resolution and pixel accuracy to image quality

The properties of human eye imply some upper limits. For example, it is known that the
human eye can observe at most one thousand different gray levels in ideal conditions, but in
any practical situations 8 bits per pixel (256 gray level) is usually enough. The required levels
decreases even further as the resolution of the image increases. In a laser quality printing, as
in this lecture notes, even 6 bits (64 levels) results in quite satisfactory result. On the other
hand, if the application is e.g. in medical imaging or in cartography, the visual quality is not
the primary concern. For example, if the pixels represent some physical measure and/or the
image will be analyzed by a computer, the additional accuracy may be useful. Even if human
eye cannot detect any differences, computer analysis may recognize the difference. The
requirement of the spatial resolution depends both on the usage of the image and the image
content. If the default printing (or display) size of the image is known, the scanning
resolution can be chosen accordingly so that the pixels are not seen and the image appearance
is not jagged (blocky). However, the final reproduction size of the image is not always known
but images are often achieved just for “later use”. Thus, once the image is digitized it will
most likely (according to Murphy’s law) be later edited and enlarged beyond what was
allowed by the original resolution. The image content sets also some requirements to the
resolution. If the image has very fine structure exceeding the sampling resolution, it may
cause so-called aliasing effect where the digitized image has patterns that does not exists in
the original.

Fig: Sensitivity of the eye to the intensity changes