Region-based image fusion method using bidimensional empirical mode decomposition

Abstract

Youzhi Zheng Tsinghua University, Department of Computer Science and Technology, Beijing, China 100084 Zheng Qin Tsinghua University, School of Software, Beijing, China 100084 We propose a novel multiscale decomposition (MSD) image fusion algorithm, which is region-based image fusion using bidimensional empirical mode decomposition (BEMD). BEMD is a 2-D data-driven decomposition derived from the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), which does not require predetermined filter or wavelet function. The input images are decomposed into a number of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) as well as a residual image. The fusion is performed region by region based on the segmentations of the input images to produce composite BEMD representation, and then the inverse BEMD transform is applied to obtain the fused image. Experiments show that the proposed image fusion algorithm provides superior performance over traditional fusion schemes in terms of both objective metrics and visual quality.