Propagation, structural similarity and image quality

Abstract

Natural images usually show a strong dependency between one point and its neighbourhood. This fact helps to the image interpretation and should be considered when determining the final image quality. The aim of this work is to propose an objective index which allows comparing natural images on the retina and, from them, to obtain relevant information abut the visual quality of a particular subject. The morphological data of the subject's eye are considered and the light propagation through the ocular media is calculated by means of a Fourier-transform-based method. The retinal PSF so obtained is convolved with the natural scene under consideration and the obtained image is compared with the ideal one by using the structural similarity index.