© 2015 IJSRSET | Volume 1 | Issue 1 | Print ISSN : 2395-1990 | Online ISSN : 2394-4099

Themed Section: Engineering and Technology

A New Approach in a Gray-Level Image Contrast Enhancement by using Fuzzy

Logic Technique
Hussain K. Khleaf1, Kamarul H. Bin Gazali2, Mithaq Na’ma Raheema3, Ahmed N Abdalla4
Faculty of Electrical and Electronic, Engineering, University Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia
ABSTRACT

Fuzzy Logic technique represents a new approach for gray level image contrast enhancement. The image contrast
problem is one of the main problems that confront the researchers in the field of digital image processing, such as in
the biomedical image processing like X-Ray and MRI image segmentation for disease classification. In this paper,
presenting a new approach to enhancing the image contrast by using fuzzy logic algorithm, so based on the fuzzy
rule, we present a new membership equation, which represents the variable threshold level. The proposed method
we named it (Fuzzy Hyperbolic Threshold). By using Matlab was implemented the algorithm, and applied to
difference gray level images such as old documents images, biomedical images, most of them gives very good
results especially with the biomedical images, because of its significant impact on the adjustment of lighting in dark
images, clarify its edges, clarify their features and improved image quality.

Keywords
Image Contrast Enhancement; Fuzzy logic; Fuzzy Hyperbolic Threshold; Intelligent Techniques.

I. INTRODUCTION invisible, and the light densities that are more than
the brightness threshold be very luminous, where it
In recent years, was an increased to deal with is difficult to distinguish the image details [4, 5]. In
digital images due to the availability of advanced the computers, the digital images are represented as
technology that makes easy dealing with the images a two dimensional array, and each element in this
in the computers. In general, the working principle array is representation of light intensity of dot
of digital image capture devices depends on the called a pixel. In addition, there are three main
conversion of light into electrical charges (electrical types of digital image, which is a binary image,
signals), and then converts the electrical signals into gray level image and colored image [6].
a series of numbers, such as (zeros and ones) to
represent all the colored dots in the image and save With the progress in digital technology to capture
it as a digital file on the computers [1, 2]. The term images, the users and researchers in particular, they
Contrast is the amount of the difference between had been confronting a bad contrast problem, it is
the different lighting for image elements. However, one of the main problems in the image processing
the ratio between the objects lighting and floor field, therefore, began a need to improve some of
lighting objects that fall on objects [3]. The vision the images that tainted by lack of clarity when
system in the human eye responds to a wide range capture images [7, 8]. The reasons due to the
of lighting levels, this response has varied misuse of devices, use a not good and undeveloped
depending on the rate of observed lighting, which device and sometimes, other reasons give bad
specified by a two thresholds for the darkness and images, like lack of proper lighting, such as cloudy
the brightness. Therefore, the light densities that are weather, bright light, dark locations or take the
less than darkness threshold be very dark, so be

IJSRSET141112 | Received: 9 Dec 2014 | Accepted: 20 Dec 2014 | January-February 2015 [(1)1: 19-23] 19
picture from a distance, all these reasons leading to classical methods, because they contain fogginess
blurred image details and blurred colors in it [9]. in the original. In addition, when processing a color
of the pixel, there are two questions appear, which
FUZZY SYSTEM is it a color value of the current pixel becoming
darker or brighter than the past? And what are the
Fuzzy systems are made of a knowledge base and thresholds for the darkness and the brightness?
reasoning mechanism called fuzzy inference system. Therefore, using fuzzy logic technique to improve
A fuzzy inference system combines fuzzy if-then the digital image, is a very appropriate for such that
rules into a mapping from the inputs of the system things. The fuzzy logic methods differ in the
into its outputs, using fuzzy reasoning methods. processing on how to choose suitable the
That is, fuzzy systems represent a nonlinear membership function to obtain the desired results,
mapping accompanied by fuzzy if-then rules from but all fuzzy logic methods are sharing in a
the rule base. Each of these rules describes the local processing of various subjects at three basic stages,
mappings. The rule base can be constructed either which is Image Fuzzification, Membership
from human expert or from automatic generation Modification and Image Defuzzification. Figure 2,
that is extraction of rules using numerical input- Illustrates the stages of image processing using
output data [10, 11]. A fuzzy inference system (FIS) fuzzy logic.
consists of four functional as shown in Figure 1.
IMAGE ENHANCEMENT BY USING FUZZY
LOGIC TECHNIQUES

Fuzzy logic is used to improve digital images this is

because some of the images suffer from the
ambiguity chromatography when processed in the
Figure 1: Fuzzy Inference System
classical methods, because they contain fogginess
in the original. In addition, when processing a color
 Fuzzification: transforms the crisp inputs into of the pixel, there are two questions appear, which
degrees of match with linguistic values. is it a color value of the current pixel becoming
 Knowledge base: consists of a rule base and a darker or brighter than the past? And what are the
database. A rule base contains a number of thresholds for the darkness and the brightness?
fuzzy if-then rules. A database defines the Therefore, using fuzzy logic technique to improve
membership function of the fuzzy sets used in the digital image, is a very appropriate for such that
the fuzzy rules. things. The fuzzy logic methods differ in the
processing on how to choose suitable the
 Fuzzy inference engine: performs the inference
membership function to obtain the desired results,
operations on the rules.
but all fuzzy logic methods are sharing in a
 Defuzzification: transforms the fuzzy results of
processing of various subjects at three basic stages,
the inference into a crisp output.
which is Image Fuzzification, Membership
Modification and Image Defuzzification. Figure 2,
IMAGE ENHANCEMENT BY USING FUZZY
Illustrates the stages of image processing using
LOGIC TECHNIQUES
fuzzy logic.
Fuzzy logic is used to improve digital images this is
because some of the images suffer from the
ambiguity chromatography when processed in the

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 steps we have two membership function equations 2
and 3, which are depending on the two factors, the
first is a current pixel value and the second is the
value of α. The value of α is a selecting by users
between (0, 2), and setting it depending on the
vision of the users for the resulting image. These
steps are as follows:

Figure 2: Block Diagram of The Proposed  Read Image, Img (r, c).
Technique  Find the following parameters:
Maximum level Max(Img), Minimum level
Membership function is selected or designed Min(Img) and Middle level Mid(Img).
according to the desired application. For improving . …1
the contrast was used membership function that
 Set (α) Between the Range (0, 2).
gives a degree of affiliation to the dark elements
 Calculate the membership function value
close to the (0), so do not reach to any bright
m(r ,c) as the follows :
element. Similarly, for the bright elements, they are
gradually increases until reaches to close to the (1) For Img(r, c) >= Mid(Img)
or bright elements. And for the other elements, they
are taking an affiliation degree between the (0, 1) * +
which be an affiliation partly with group. Figure 3,
Illustrates the results from a grayscale image ….2
processing and the same principle is applied to the For Img(r, c) >= Min(Img) and
color image.
Img(r, c) < Mid(Img)

* ( )+ …3

Figure 3: the process of improving the contrast in images using fuzzy  Modify the membership value where
logic
…4
In this paper, was used three methods of fuzzy logic
to improve the contrast, which is a Fuzzy
 Set the new pixel value as the following:
Histogram Hyperbolization Method, Intensification Img(r, c) = m'(r, c) * Img(r, c) …5
Operator Method and Fuzzy Expected Value
 Repeat as at the last above three steps, for
Method, and then compare the results obtained each pixel in the image.
from these methods with the results from our  Show the new image Img'(r, c).
proposed method, which named Fuzzy Hyperbolic
Threshold Method. III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

II. METHODS AND MATERIAL The proposed method results had been
The procedure steps of proposed method including compared with the other contrast enhancement
calculating the new membership function equation methods of a different selected digital image such
for the fuzzy logic for image enhancement as a scanned ECG image, X-ray images, MRI
technique has explained below. In the procedure images, medical ultrasound images and other

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different images, as shown in the below figures.
Can see the results through the difference in the
contrast of the images, also through a new
distribution of a gray level in the resulting images.

In figure 4, the results of the contrast enhancement

in the MRI image show that a proposed method is
much clearer (high quality contrast) compared with
the Histogram contrast enhancement method. In this
result, set α value to 1.5.

Figure 4: Medical MRI Image with them histogram diagram

Figure 5: The results of different type of images with them

histogram diagram, which is from the up to down are,
Original images, improved by proposing method with α set
to 0.1, 0.6 and 1.2 respectively.

In the figure 5, we present the results of gray level

contrast enhancement for different images, for each
one of them we selected three different values for α,
which is 0.1, 0.6 and 1.2 respectively. The goal
from that is to show the effects of α on the contrast
for the resulting image.

IV. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

There are many different types of contrast

enhancement methods. In addition, there are
different types of digital images. Therefore, There
is no a general method that uses on all types of
images. According to that, the method that is
applied for the one of the image types, may be do

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not give good results when used with another type Hong Kong, Barcelona and Budapest, also available at
(http://www.comm.toronto.edu/~kostas/Publications2008/
of images. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the pub/bookchapters/2000-SpringerMonograph.pdf).
general and the absolute algorithm for all kinds of [5] Sharma, G., Trussel, H.J., 1997, Digital color processing,
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[7] Ramandeep K. and Rajiv M., 2014, Evaluating the
improve the contrast in the images depends on Performance of Dominant Brightness Level Based Color
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In general, the contrast enhancement process in the Intelligent Systems, Physica- Verlag Heidelberg, New
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enhancement processing is some noise appearance
in the resulting image. The advantage of the
proposed method, it increased the sharpness of the
image details and show the edges well and kept the
original colors of the image. But sometimes the
resulting image looks little darker when compared
with some other methods, the result varies
depending on the nature of the image colors.

We recommend using the proposed method on the

picture dark and medical images for maintaining
colors.

V. REFERENCES

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