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Thresholded Blur

Thresholded Blur

An edge-preserving averaging (smoothing) algorithm, also known as surface blur.

Description

This ImageJ plugin provides an edge-preserving averaging (smoothing) algorithm. Depending on the parameters and the image type, the filter can even sharpen blurred edges. The filter provides preview and works for all image types (8-, 16-, 32-bit and RGB color).

The algorithm is a selective mean filter with a circular kernel. “Selective” means that pixels strongly deviating from the current pixel are not included in the averaging process.

Limitation: Currently, the filter does not use parallel processing (except for processing of stacks); thus it is rather slow.

Filter parameters

Screen shot

  • Radius determines the kernel size included in averaging; see Process>Filters>Show Circular Masks.
  • Threshold: Pixels that deviate from the current pixel by more than the threshold are not included in the averaging process. The filter behaves like a usual mean filter if the threshold is larger than the range of the pixels (e.g. 255 for 8-bit images). No filtering is done if threshold = 0. The threshold should be smaller than the pixel difference across edges that should be preserved, but larger than the noise.
  • Softness: The threshold can be soft. In this case, if the difference between the neighbor and the pixel is close to the threshold, i.e., within threshold * (1 - softness) and threshold * (1 + softness), it contributes with a weight between 0 and 1. For strength > 1, the equation uses the softness multiplied by the strength value. Typical softness values are between 0 and 2. A soft threshold produces softer edges.
  • Strength: For stronger smoothing, use a value of “Strength” > 1. Then, filtering is applied as many times as given by that parameter.
  • Brightness-Based: For RGB images, the difference between two pixels can be calculated as the distance between the points (r,g,b) in a cartesian system or as the difference of brightness (brightness-based). In both cases, the weights of the colors can be set in Edit>Options>Conversions.

“Brightness-based” is advisable for images that have stronger color noise than brightness noise.

The filter can be also used to sharpen edges; use strength values > 1 to enhance this effect. On the other hand, if unwanted sharp contours appear in the filtered image (“staircasing” effect), try increasing the softness parameter and use a strength value of 1. Anyhow, thresholded blur (surface blur) is less prone to staircasing than some other edge-preserving blur filters.

  • Surface Blur by Douglas Cameron (previously on imagejdocu.tudor.lu, currently not moved to ImageJ.net, available via the wayback machine): Surface blur with a distance-dependent weight of the pixels. For RGB images only.
  • Lee’s Sigma Filter: An edge-preserving filter that does not need manual selection of a threshold.

Download

  • Source code Thresholded_Blur.java on GitHub (make sure you download the raw file, use the button near the top right)
  • Class file Thresholded_Blur.class on GitHub

Installation

  • Copy the raw Thresholded_Blur.java file into the ImageJ plugins folder or a subfolder thereof. Make sure that you name the downloaded file ”Thresholded_Blur.java”; uppercase/lowercase matters.
  • Compile with “Compile and Run” and press “OK”. Note that “Compile and Run” is currently broken on Fiji; as a workaround use File>New>Script, open the Thresholded_Blur.java file and press “Run“.
  • Alternatively, directly save the .class file Thresholded_Blur.class into the ImageJ/plugins directory or an immediate subdirectory thereof. Again, make sure that you name the file correctly, uppercase/lowercase matters.
  • Use Help>Update Menus or restart ImageJ to make it appear in the Plugins menu (not necessary if you have used the Fiji Script Editor).

Version History

  • 2023-08-30 Michael Schmid: Nonblocking dialog, but still not parallelized