A Variational Approach for Bias Correction and Boundary Delineation of SAR Image with Intensity Inhomogeneity

This paper presents a variational approach for bias correction and boundary delineation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images with intensity inhomogeneity. The bias fields in SAR images might have a negative impact on boundary delineation. Our approach is implemented by two steps within a unified framework of energy minimization. First we propose a deviation correction method in which no physical parameter is needed. Then we conduct an improved geodesic active contour model using the tensor voting method to delineate boundaries. The advantage of combining the geodesic active contour model and the tensor voting method is that the active contour is more sensitive to weak boundaries.