Edge-preserved smoothing method with special reference to intravascular ultrasound image using anisotropic diffusion filter controlled by weighted separability measure

This paper describes a novel edge-preserved smoothing method specialized for intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) image. In the proposed method, the processing of an anisotropic diffusion filter is controlled by the weighted separability of an IVUS image. The present method not only reduces a speckle noise but also enhances an edge on an IVUS image. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the experiments using the real IVUS images. Key–Words: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) image, Speckle noise reduction, Edge-preserved smoothing, Anisotropic diffusion, Weighted separability