Line pattern segmentation using morphological probing

In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for line pattern segmentation. It allows to recover line structures of various widths and intensities and removes structures other than line structures, effects of non-uniformity of the background level and noise. This algorithm is composed of two stages : line enhancement and line extraction. Firstly, line enhancement is carried out using a pattern matching method, relying on a profiling approach and defined with mathematical morphology operators. This transform allows to detect multiple objects of varying size or shape simultaneously using a unique template. For line segmentation, this template is divided into three parallel flat segments. Two lateral segments are used to probe the line from above while a central one probes the line from below. Several parameters describe the template and allow to adapt to various applications. Secondly, line extraction is performed by thinning and thresholding. Results on synthetic line patterns images as well as on real biomedical images are presented.