EPFL | Biomedical Imaging Group

Odd Men Out: A Quantitative Objective Procedure for Identifying Anomalous Members of a Set of Noisy Images of Ostensibly Identical Specimens

M. Unser, A.C. Steven, B.L. Trus

Ultramicroscopy, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 337–347, 1986.

Achievement of an optimal improvement in signal-to-noise ratio from image averaging techniques depends crucially on the assumption that all members of the set of images to be averaged are fundamentally alike. In HREM of biological macromolecules, this assumption may be invalid for such reasons as variations in viewing geometry, non-uniformity of staining, or structural perturbations caused by specimen preparation procedures or radiation damage. Inclusion of data that are compromized by these or other factors will degrade the information content of the averaged image. Here the authors present an algorithm which provides an objective quantitative method for the identification and elimination of anomalous members of a set of pre-aligned images. Based on a statistical criterion of mutual consistency the algorithm forms an ordered list in which the individual images are ranked from most to least reliable. On specification of the noise statistics-in the formulation given here, of stationary white noise-an acceptability threshold in this ordered list is imposed. The derivation and implementation of this algorithm are presented, its properties discussed, and its application illustrated using both real and model electron micrograph data.

@ARTICLE(http://bigwww.epfl.ch/publications/unser8601.html,
AUTHOR="Unser, M. and Steven, A.C. and Trus, B.L.",
TITLE="Odd Men Out: {A} Quantitative Objective Procedure for
	Identifying Anomalous Members of a Set of Noisy Images of Ostensibly
	Identical Specimens",
JOURNAL="Ultramicroscopy",
YEAR="1986",
volume="19",
number="4",
pages="337--347",
month="",
note="")

© 1986 Ultramicroscopy. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from Ultramicroscopy. This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.