Multiresolution block coding method for visualization of compressed images in multimedia applications

Abstract

Multimedia and Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) applications require efficient ways of handling images for communication and visualization. In many Visual Information and Management Systems (VIMS), it may be required to get quick responses to queries. Usually, a VIMS database has a huge number of images and may provide lots of images for each query. For example, in a PACS, the VIMS provides 10 to 100 images for a typical query. Only a few of these images may actually be needed. In order to find the useful ones, the user has to preview each image by fully decompressing it. This is neither computationally efficient, nor user friendly. In this paper, we propose a scheme which provides a magnifying glass type previewing feature. With this method, a multiresolution previewing without decompressing the whole image is possible. Our scheme is based on block transform coding which is the most widely used technique in image and video coding. In the first step of our scheme, all of the queried images are displayed in the lowest possible resolution (constructed from the DC coefficients of the coded blocks). If the user requests more information for a region of a particular image by specifying its size and place, then that region is hierarchically decompressed and displayed. In this way, large amounts of computations and bandwidth usage are avoided and a good user interface is accomplished. This method changes the ordering strategy of transform coefficients, thus reduces the compression ratio, however this effect is small.