Gaurav Bhatnagar

Bio: Gaurav Bhatnagar is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur. The author has contributed to research in topics: Digital watermarking & Watermark. The author has an hindex of 22, co-authored 111 publications receiving 2125 citations. Previous affiliations of Gaurav Bhatnagar include Jawaharlal Nehru University & Indian Institutes of Technology.

Directive Contrast Based Multimodal Medical Image Fusion in NSCT Domain

Abstract: Multimodal medical image fusion, as a powerful tool for the clinical applications, has developed with the advent of various imaging modalities in medical imaging. The main motivation is to capture most relevant information from sources into a single output, which plays an important role in medical diagnosis. In this paper, a novel fusion framework is proposed for multimodal medical images based on non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT). The source medical images are first transformed by NSCT followed by combining low- and high-frequency components. Two different fusion rules based on phase congruency and directive contrast are proposed and used to fuse low- and high-frequency coefficients. Finally, the fused image is constructed by the inverse NSCT with all composite coefficients. Experimental results and comparative study show that the proposed fusion framework provides an effective way to enable more accurate analysis of multimodality images. Further, the applicability of the proposed framework is carried out by the three clinical examples of persons affected with Alzheimer, subacute stroke and recurrent tumor.

A new robust reference watermarking scheme based on DWT-SVD

Abstract: This paper presents a new semi-blind reference watermarking scheme based on discrete wavelet transform(DWT) and singular value decomposition(SVD) for copyright protection and authenticity. We are using a gray scale logo image as watermark instead of randomly generated Gaussian noise type watermark. For watermark embedding, the original image is transformed into wavelet domain and a reference sub-image is formed using directive contrast and wavelet coefficients. We embed watermark into reference image by modifying the singular values of reference image using the singular values of the watermark. A reliable watermark extraction scheme is developed for the extraction of watermark from distorted image. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the proposed scheme is able to withstand a variety of attacks. We show that the proposed scheme also stands with the ambiguity attack also.

A new contrast based multimodal medical image fusion framework

Abstract: Medical image fusion plays an important role in clinical applications such as image-guided surgery, image-guided radiotherapy, noninvasive diagnosis, and treatment planning. The main motivation is to fuse different multimodal information into a single output. In this instance, we propose a novel framework for spatially registered multimodal medical image fusion, which is primarily based on the non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT). The proposed method enables the decomposition of source medical images into low- and high-frequency bands in NSCT domain. Different fusion rules are then applied to the varied frequency bands of the transformed images. Fusion coefficients are achieved by the following fusion rule: low-frequency components are fused using an activity measure based on the normalized Shannon entropy, which essentially selects low-frequency components from the focused regions with high degree of clearness. In contrast, high-frequency components are fused using the directive contrast, which essentially collects all the informative textures from the source. Integrating these fusion rules, more spatial feature and functional information can be preserved and transferred into the fused images. The performance of the proposed framework is illustrated using four groups of human brain and two clinical bone images from different sources as our experimental subjects. The experimental results and comparison with other methods show the superior performance of the framework in both subjective and objective assessment criteria.

Discrete fractional wavelet transform and its application to multiple encryption

Abstract: The fractional wavelet transform is a useful mathematical transformation that generalizes the most prominent tool in signal and image processing namely wavelet transform by rotation of signals in the time-frequency plane. The definition of discrete fractional wavelet transform is not reported yet in the literature. Therefore, a definition of the discrete fractional wavelet transform is consolidated by discretizing continuous fractional wavelet transform in the proposed work. Possible applications of the transform are in transient signal processing, image analysis, image transmission, biometrics, image compression etc. In this paper, image transmission is chosen as the primary application and hence a novel encryption scheme is proposed for securing multiple images during communication and transmission over insecure channel. The proposed multiple image encryption scheme is consolidated by fractional wavelet transform and chaotic maps. First, all the images are encrypted followed by their sharing. The sharing process is done considering numerical techniques by making the sharing process a system of linear equations. Experimental results and security analysis demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed primary application.

Human visual system inspired multi-modal medical image fusion framework

Abstract: Multi-modal medical image fusion, as a powerful tool for the clinical applications, has developed with the advent of various imaging modalities in medical imaging. The main motivation is to capture most relevant information from sources into a single output, which plays an important role in medical diagnosis. In this paper, a novel framework for medical image fusion based on framelet transform is proposed considering the characteristics of human visual system (HVS). The core idea behind the proposed framework is to decompose all source images by the framelet transform. Two different HVS inspired fusion rules are proposed for combining the low- and high-frequency coefficients respectively. The former is based on the visibility measure, and the latter is based on the texture information. Finally, the fused image is constructed by the inverse framelet transform with all composite coefficients. Experimental results highlight the expediency and suitability of the proposed framework. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated by the different experiments on different multi-modal medical images. Further, the enhanced performance of the proposed framework is understood from the comparison with existing algorithms.

Pixel-level image fusion

Abstract: This review provides a survey of various pixel-level image fusion methods according to the adopted transform strategy.The existing fusion performance evaluation methods and the unresolved problems are concluded.The major challenges met in different image fusion applications are analyzed and concluded. Pixel-level image fusion is designed to combine multiple input images into a fused image, which is expected to be more informative for human or machine perception as compared to any of the input images. Due to this advantage, pixel-level image fusion has shown notable achievements in remote sensing, medical imaging, and night vision applications. In this paper, we first provide a comprehensive survey of the state of the art pixel-level image fusion methods. Then, the existing fusion quality measures are summarized. Next, four major applications, i.e., remote sensing, medical diagnosis, surveillance, photography, and challenges in pixel-level image fusion applications are analyzed. At last, this review concludes that although various image fusion methods have been proposed, there still exist several future directions in different image fusion applications. Therefore, the researches in the image fusion field are still expected to significantly grow in the coming years.

Infrared and visible image fusion methods and applications: A survey

Abstract: Infrared images can distinguish targets from their backgrounds based on the radiation difference, which works well in all-weather and all-day/night conditions. By contrast, visible images can provide texture details with high spatial resolution and definition in a manner consistent with the human visual system. Therefore, it is desirable to fuse these two types of images, which can combine the advantages of thermal radiation information in infrared images and detailed texture information in visible images. In this work, we comprehensively survey the existing methods and applications for the fusion of infrared and visible images. First, infrared and visible image fusion methods are reviewed in detail. Meanwhile, image registration, as a prerequisite of image fusion, is briefly introduced. Second, we provide an overview of the main applications of infrared and visible image fusion. Third, the evaluation metrics of fusion performance are discussed and summarized. Fourth, we select eighteen representative methods and nine assessment metrics to conduct qualitative and quantitative experiments, which can provide an objective performance reference for different fusion methods and thus support relative engineering with credible and solid evidence. Finally, we conclude with the current status of infrared and visible image fusion and deliver insightful discussions and prospects for future work. This survey can serve as a reference for researchers in infrared and visible image fusion and related fields.

A new 1D chaotic system for image encryption

Abstract: This paper introduces a simple and effective chaotic system using a combination of two existing one-dimension (1D) chaotic maps (seed maps). Simulations and performance evaluations show that the proposed system is able to produce many 1D chaotic maps with larger chaotic ranges and better chaotic behaviors compared with their seed maps. To investigate its applications in multimedia security, a novel image encryption algorithm is proposed. Using a same set of security keys, this algorithm is able to generate a completely different encrypted image each time when it is applied to the same original image. Experiments and security analysis demonstrate the algorithm's excellent performance in image encryption and various attacks.

Medical Image Fusion: A survey of the state of the art

Abstract: Medical image fusion is the process of registering and combining multiple images from single or multiple imaging modalities to improve the imaging quality and reduce randomness and redundancy in order to increase the clinical applicability of medical images for diagnosis and assessment of medical problems. Multi-modal medical image fusion algorithms and devices have shown notable achievements in improving clinical accuracy of decisions based on medical images. This review article provides a factual listing of methods and summarizes the broad scientific challenges faced in the field of medical image fusion. We characterize the medical image fusion research based on (1) the widely used image fusion methods, (2) imaging modalities, and (3) imaging of organs that are under study. This review concludes that even though there exists several open ended technological and scientific challenges, the fusion of medical images has proved to be useful for advancing the clinical reliability of using medical imaging for medical diagnostics and analysis, and is a scientific discipline that has the potential to significantly grow in the coming years.

2D Sine Logistic modulation map for image encryption

Abstract: Because of the excellent properties of unpredictability, ergodicity and sensitivity to their parameters and initial values, chaotic maps are widely used in security applications. In this paper, we introduce a new two-dimensional Sine Logistic modulation map (2D-SLMM) which is derived from the Logistic and Sine maps. Compared with existing chaotic maps, it has the wider chaotic range, better ergodicity, hyperchaotic property and relatively low implementation cost. To investigate its applications, we propose a chaotic magic transform (CMT) to efficiently change the image pixel positions. Combining 2D-SLMM with CMT, we further introduce a new image encryption algorithm. Simulation results and security analysis demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is able to protect images with low time complexity and a high security level as well as to resist various attacks.