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Image Processing

The Image Processing window displays the filters available for your image. You can easily undo each filter and revert to your original image.

ClosedTo use Image Processing on the current image
  1. Click Image>Image Processing; Neurolucida opens the Image Processing window.
    • Drag the window to a more convenient location and resize it if you prefer.
  2. Click an effect thumbnail to apply a filter.
  3. Select or modify the filter's options (some filters do not have options and are applied immediately).
  4. To undo:
    • the last filter applied, click Undo.
    • all the filters already applied, click Original Image.
ClosedTo use Image Processing on multiple images

See Image processing via the Image Organizer.

Image Filters

ClosedBrightness

Perception elicited by the luminance of an object.

  • Move the slider to the right to increase highlights.
  • Move the slider to the left to increase shadows.

Also see Gamma.

ClosedContrast
  • Move the slider to increase or decrease the tonal range (i.e., the difference between the maximum highlight value and the minimum shadow value).

Also see Gamma.

ClosedEqualize

Redistributes the brightness values of the pixels so that they more evenly represent the entire range of brightness levels.

ClosedFalse Color

The sinusoidal palette is the most flexible option as it lets you adjust both wavelength and hue with the sliders.

ClosedGamma
  • Move the slider to increase or decrease mid-tones.

Also see Brightness, Contrast.

ClosedGaussian Blur
  • Use to sharpen or smooth the image.

Also see High Pass Filter, Low Pass Filter.

ClosedGrayscale

Use to display the image in shades of gray.

ClosedHigh Pass Filter
  • Use to sharpen the image by enhancing contrast between adjoining areas with little variation in brightness or darkness.

Also see Sharpen.
ClosedInvert

Pixel colors are replaced by their complementary colors. Brightness values are inverted.

ClosedKodalith
  • Use for image segmentation.

Also see Threshold.

ClosedLow Pass Filter
  • Use to remove noise from the image.

Also see Gaussian Blur.

ClosedOrientation

• Use to rotate or flip the image.

ClosedRemove Noise

Also see Low Pass Filter to adjust the level of removal.

ClosedSharpen
  • Use to sharpen or blur the image.

Also see High Pass Filter.

ClosedThreshold
  • Use for image segmentation.

Also see Kodalith.

ClosedTrue Color

Refers to the 24-bit RGB display mode.

Image Types

The range of image processing operations available depends on the type of image.

ClosedTrue Color

A true color (24-bit) image refers to an image in RGB display-mode.

Each of the three primary colors (red, green and blue) has a value that ranges from 0 to 255; this is the dynamic range of each color.

All images acquired from a color camera are true color images.

ClosedPaletted

A paletted image refers to a compressed image with limited color information.

The colors available in the image belong to a restricted list of colors called a palette.

Although Neurolucida supports paletted images, we do not recommend their use as these images only offer limited data.

ClosedGrayscale

A grayscale image is composed of 256 shades of gray. Each pixel carries intensity information.

ClosedMonochrome (also referred to as kodalith in Neurolucida)

A monochrome image refers to a binary image composed of black and white:

  • black=0
  • white=1 (or white=255 for comparison with true color)

Monochrome images consist of two distinct regions: 

  • foreground (usually black) -- displays areas of interest
  • background (usually white)

Splitting the image into foreground and background is called image segmentation.

 

Although the term monochrome is often used to classify cameras that capture grayscale images, a true monochrome image contains only black and white pixels with no shades of intermediate gray.

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