Thermal-image quality measurements

Thermal image quality assessment is essential in evaluating the performance of thermal imaging systems. The existing no-reference methods can be roughly categorized using quantification measures as follows: a) Human Visual System measures, b) information measures, and c) image distribution measures. All the above classes of measures are not appropriate for thermal imaging because the structure of thermal images is quite different from visible light images. In thermal images, the temperature of the background is high, temperature difference between objects and the background is small, and it is difficult to determine the link between objective and subjective image quality assessment. There is a need in new thermal image quality measures which can connect objective representation performance and thermal image characteristics. This paper presents new no-reference thermal-imaging measures and elaborates on their applications. They integrate advantages of above-mentioned conventional of measures. Simulation results demonstrate effectiveness of the presented measures in evaluating thermal image qualities in comparison with other well-known assessment tools. Finally, conclusions on more general applicability of these measures are presented.