Hidden Markov tree modeling of complex wavelet transforms

Multiresolution signal and image models such as the hidden Markov tree aim to capture the statistical structure of smooth and singular (edgy) regions. Unfortunately, models based on the orthogonal wavelet transform suffer from shift-variance, making them less accurate and realistic. We extend the HMT modeling framework to the complex wavelet transform, which features near shift-invariance and improved angular resolution compared to the standard wavelet transform. The model is computationally efficient (with linear-time computation and processing algorithms) and applicable to general Bayesian inference problems as a prior density for the data. In a simple estimation experiment, the complex wavelet HMT model outperforms a number of high-performance denoising algorithms, including redundant wavelet thresholding (cycle spinning) and the redundant HMT