Contrast-modulated Nonlinear Diffusion for X-ray Angiogram Images

In this paper, we present a new method for X-ray angiogram images enhancement using a contrast-modulated nonlinear diffusion. The original nonlinear diffusion is gradient driven, which leads into much dependence on the accurate estimation of the edge. However, it is very difficult to get the accurate estimation of edges for X-ray angiogram images, which are characterized with complex background. So it is necessary to do some improvements to this model. By designing a new concept of contrast space according to the characteristics of these images, we change the original nonlinear diffusion into contrast-modulated nonlinear diffusion. Compared with the traditional method, this new approach is proved to have a better performance of enhancement.