A wavelet approach to double-sided document image pair processing

We present a novel method for processing double-sided historical handwritten documents using wavelets. The method is specially designed to remove interfering strokes from the reverse side due to ink seeping through pages after long periods of storage. The proposed method works by first matching both sides of a document page such that the interfering strokes are mapped with the originating strokes from the reverse side. Then with the rough identification of the foreground and the interfering strokes, a wavelet reconstruction process iteratively enhances the foreground strokes and smears the interfering strokes so as to strengthen the discriminating capability of an edge detector to extract a clear foreground image. This is an improvement of our earlier work.