Group testing for image compression

This paper presents group testing for wavelets (GTW), a novel embedded-wavelet-based image compression algorithm based on the concept of group testing. We explain how group testing is a generalization of the zerotree coding technique for wavelet-transformed images. We also show that Golomb coding is equivalent to Hwang´s group testing algorithm (Du and Hwang 1993). GTW is similar to SPIHT (Said and Pearlman 1996) but replaces SPIHT´s significance pass with a new group testing based method. Although no arithmetic coding is implemented, GTW performs competitively with SPIHT´s arithmetic coding variant in terms of rate-distortion performance.