Image Focus Enhancement Using Focusing Filter and DT-CWT Based Image Fusion

Abstract

Combining multi-model images of the same scene that have different focus distances can produce clearer and sharper images with a larger depth of field. Most available image fusion algorithms are superior in results. However, they did not take into account the focus of the image. In this paper a fusion method is proposed to increase the focus of the fused image and to achieve highest quality image using the suggested focusing filter and Dual Tree-Complex Wavelet Transform. The focusing filter consist of a combination of two filters, which are Wiener filter and a sharpening filter. This filter is used before the fusion operation using Dual Tree-Complex Wavelet Transform. The common fusion rules, which are the average-fusion rule and maximum-fusion rule, were used to obtain the fused image. In the experiment, using the focus operators, the performance of the proposed fusion algorithm was compared with the existing algorithms. The results showed that the proposed method is better than these fusion methods in terms of the focus and quality.