Contourlet transform for image fusion using cycle spinning

A new method for image fusion based on Contourlet transform and cycle spinning is proposed. Contourlet transform is a flexible multiresolution, local and directional image expansion, also provids a sparse representation for two-dimensional piece-wise smooth signals resembling images. Due to lack of translation invariance property in Contourlet transform, the conventional image fusion algorithm based on Contourlet transform introduces many artifacts. According to the theory of cycle spinning applied to image denoising, an invariance transform can reduce the artifacts through a series of processing efficiently. So the technology of cycle spinning is introduced to develop the translation invariant Contourlet fusion algorithm. This method can effectively eliminate the Gibbs-like phenomenon, extract the characteristics of original images, and preserve more important information. Experimental results show the simplicity and effectiveness of the method and its advantages over the conventional approaches.