Image enhancement using linear diffusion and an improved gradient map estimate

In this paper, we propose an approach to improve the noise removal/structure preservation properties of non-linear, inhomogenous diffusion filtering algorithms. These algorithms are locally driven by the gradient vector. We introduce an algorithm to obtain an estimate of the gradient vector field using local and global information contained in the original noisy gradient field. The estimated gradient field is then applied to a linear inhomogeneous diffusion process. Good structure preservation/image denoising properties are obtained using this new approach