Bit-rate allocation control and quality improvement for color channels in HMVQ image compression

Medical images usually require higher fidelity than commonly used natural images, especially with respect to detail preservation. Color medical images also require a higher degree of color preservation. In this paper, we present the extension of the novel gray-scale image compression technique, hybrid multi-scale vector quantization (HMVQ) to color image compression. Limitations of common color image compression methods in controlling bit-rate allocation for color channels are discussed, and the ability of HMVQ in overcoming such limitations while improving the color quality is demonstrated.