Soft Tissue Removal in X-Ray Images by Half Window Dark Channel Prior

Soft tissue in X-ray images obscures the bone structure such that the details on bones are not clear. Conventional methods simultaneously enhance the image contrast for the soft tissue and the bones. Here we propose to remove all soft tissue in X-ray images, making the bone structure clear. For this purpose, we first propose a half window dark channel prior and a half window guided filter. Then, we apply this prior and filter on X-ray images. After processing, the bone details in X-ray images become clear and sharp. Several experiments confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of our method. Our method can be used for bone segmentation, classification, recognition, and clinical diagnosis.