Image restoration and contrast enhancement based on a nonlinear reaction-diffusion mathematical model and divide & conquer technique

Abstract

In this article, we present a new algorithm for digital image processing noised by mixed Gaussian-impulse noise. Our mathematical model is based on the divide-conquer technique coupled with a reaction-diffusion system. We first decompose our image into low and high-frequency components by convolving each with a predefined convolutional filter. Further, we use a simple scheme of different weights to integrate and collect these processed sub-images into a filtered image. Finally, we apply our Reaction-Diffusion system to increase the contrast in the image. A number of experimental results are described to illustrate the performance of our algorithm and show that it is very effective in eliminating mixed Gaussian-impulse noise, increasing the contrast of the image and preserving the edges.