Image compression by vector quantization with noniterative derivation of a codebook: applications to video and confocal images

摘要

We demonstrate an image-compression technique that uses what we believe is a new noniterative codebook generation algorithm for vector quantization. The technique supports rapid decompression and is equally applicable to individual images or to a set of images without the need for interframe processing. Compression with a single-image codebook is tested on (1) ten confocal images of the hindbrain of a mouse embryo, (2) video images of a polystyrene microsphere that is manipulated by a focused laser light, and (3) five fiuorescence images of the embryo eye lens taken at different magnifications. The reconstructions are assessed with the normalized mean-squared error and with Linfoot's criteria of fidelity, structural content, and correlation quality. Experimental results with single-image compression show that the technique produces fewer local artifacts than JPEG compression, especially with noisy images. Results with video and confocal image series indicate that single-image codebook generation is sufficient at practical compression ratios for producing acceptable reconstructions for mouse embryo analysis and for viewing optically trapped microspheres. Experiments with the magnified images also reveal that the compression scheme is robust to scaling.