Applications of Morphology

Computer Graphics and Image Processing

Lecture 8

Muhammad Usman Ghani Khan

Department of Computer Science & Engineering

UET, Lahore

Autumn Semester

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Outline

1 Applications of Morphology

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Agenda

Today Discussion
Once segmentation is complete, morphological operations
can be used to remove imperfections in the segmented
image and provide information on the form and structure of
the image
In this lecture we will consider
What is morphology?
Simple morphological operations
Compound operations
Morphological algorithms

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1, 0, Black & White?

Throughout all of the following slides whether 0 and 1 refer

to white or black is a little interchangeable
All of the discussion that follows assumes segmentation
has already taken place and that images are made up of
0s for background pixels and 1s for object pixels
After this it doesn’t matter if 0 is black, white, yellow, green

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Morphology - Definition

Morphology: a branch of biology that deals with the form

and structure of animals and plants
Morphological image processing is used to extract image
components for representation and description of region
shape, such as boundaries, skeletons, and the convex hull

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What Is Morphology?

Definition
Morphological image processing (or morphology)
describes a range of image processing techniques that
deal with the shape (or morphology) of features in an
image

Uses of Morphology
Morphological operations are typically applied to remove
imperfections introduced during segmentation, and so
typically operate on bi-level images

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Quick Example

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Structuring Elements, Hits & Fits

Fit: All on pixels in the structuring

element cover on pixels in the
image
Hit: Any on pixel in the
structuring element covers an on
pixel in the image
All morphological processing operations are based on these simple ideas

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Structuring Elements, Hits & Fits

Fit: All on pixels in the structuring

element cover on pixels in the
image
Hit: Any on pixel in the
structuring element covers an on
pixel in the image

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Structuring Elements

Structuring elements can be any size and make any shape

However, for simplicity we will use rectangular structuring
elements with their origin at the middle pixel

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Fitting & Hitting

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Fitting & Hitting

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Fundamental Operations

1 Fundamentally morphological image processing is very

like spatial filtering
2 The structuring element is moved across every pixel in the
original image to give a pixel in a new processed image
3 The value of this new pixel depends on the operation
performed
4 There are two basic morphological operations: erosion and
dilation

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Erosion

Erosion of image f by structuring element s is given by

f s
The structuring element s is positioned with its origin at
(x, y ) and the new pixel value is determined using the rule:

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Erosion Example 1

In these examples a 1 refers to a black pixel!

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Erosion Example 2

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What Is Erosion For?

Erosion can split apart joined objects

Erosion can strip away extrusions

Erosion shrinks objects

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Dilation

Erosion of image f by structuring element s is given by

f ⊕s
The structuring element s is positioned with its origin at
(x, y ) and the new pixel value is determined using the rule:

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Dilation Example 1

In these examples a 1 refers to a black pixel!

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Dilation Example 2

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What Is Dilation Used For?

Dilation can repair breaks

Dilation can repair intrusions

Erosion enlarge objects

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Compound Operations

More interesting morphological operations can be

performed by performing combinations of erosions and
dilations
The most widely used of these compound operations are:
Opening
Closing

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Opening

Opening of image f by structuring element s denoted by

f ◦ s is simply an erosion followed by a dilation

f ◦ s = (f s) ⊕ s (1)

Note a disc shaped structuring element is used

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Opening Example

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Closing

Closing of image f by structuring element s denoted by f · s

is simply dilation followed by erosion

f · s = (f ⊕ s) s (2)

Note a disc shaped structuring element is used

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Closing Example

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Morphological Processing Example

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Morphological Algorithms

Using the simple technique we have looked at so far we

can begin to consider some more interesting
morphological algorithms
We will look at:
Boundary extraction
Region filling
There are lots of others as well though:
Extraction of connected components
Thinning/thickening
Skeletonisation

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Boundary Extraction

Extracting the boundary (or outline) of an object is often

extremely useful
The boundary can be given simply as

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Boundary Extraction Example

A simple image and the result of performing boundary

extraction using a square 3 ∗ 3 structuring element

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Region Filling

Given a pixel inside a boundary, region filling attempts to fill

that boundary with object pixels (1s)

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Region Filling Equation

The key equation for region filling is

Where X0 is simply the starting point inside the boundary,

B is a simple structuring and Ac is the complement of A
This equation is applied repeatedly until XK is equal to
XK −1
Finally the result is unioned with the original boundary

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Region Filling Step By Step

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Region Filling Step By Step

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Region Filling Step By Step

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Region Filling Example

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Summary

The purpose of morphological processing is primarily to

remove imperfections added during segmentation
The basic operations are erosion and dilation
Using the basic operations we can perform opening and
closing
More advanced morphological operation can then be
implemented using combinations of all of these

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