Shape Preserving Contrast Enhancement

In this paper, a new analytic approach for shape preserving contrast enhancement is presented. Contrast enhancement is achieved by means of segmental histogram stretching modification which preserves the given image shape, not distorting the original shape. After global stretching, the image is partitioned into several level-sets according to threshold condition. The image information of each level-set is represented as typical value based on grouped differential values. The basic property is modified into common local schemes, thereby introducing the enhanced effect through extreme discrimination between subsets. The scheme is based on stretching the histogram of subsets in which the intensity gray levels between connected pixels are approximately same In spite of histogram widening, stretched by local image information, it neither creates nor destroys the original image, thereby preserving image shape and enhancing the contrast. By designing local histogram stretching operations, we can preserve the original shape of level-sets of the image, and also enhance the global intensity. Thus it can hold the main properties of both global and local image schemes, which leads to versatile applications in the field of digital epigraphy.