Structural Similarity Index Based Optimization

Synonyms

Perceptual image optimization using SSIM; Image fidelity optimization using SSIM

Definition

This article covers methods for optimizing image processing algorithms, such as deblurring and denoising, using perceptual criteria such as SSIM, instead of the MSE.

Introduction

Mean Squared Error (MSE) and the related Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) are popularly used to measure the quality of images. Their simple analytical form and ease of implementation, combined with the complexity of competing image quality assessment (IQA) algorithms (for e.g., the just noticeable difference (JND) metric [1]) contributes to the popularity of the MSE (and PSNR). The Structural Similarity (SSIM) Index is a recent IQA algorithm that has been shown to outperform not only the MSE, but other IQA algorithms such as the JND metric in measuring the perceptual quality of natural images [2]. A natural progression is to design algorithms that are optimized with respect to the SSIM index. In the...