Artifacts suppression in biomedical images using a guided filter

Abstract

Despite significant progress in computer vision, pattern recognition, and image analysis, artifacts in imaging still hampers the progress in many scientific fields relying on the results of image analysis. We here present an advanced image-based artifacts suppression algorithm for high-resolution tomography. The algorithm is based on guided filtering of a reconstructed image mapped from the Cartesian to the polar coordinates space. This postprocessing method efficiently reduces both ring- and radial streak artifacts in a reconstructed image. Radial streak artifacts can appear in tomography with an off-center rotation of a large object over 360 degrees used to increase the reconstruction field of view. We successfully applied the developed algorithm for improving x-ray phase-contrast images of human post-mortem pineal gland and olfactory bulbs.