Image analysis

Image analysis continues to develop, and is becoming established in more and more sectors. A general method with a wide range of applications, it enables us to extract the information contained in an image objectively, accurately and often automatically. It can be used to measure or recognize shapes, objects or structures from their images. It is particularly well-suited to quantitative microscopy problems, but also has other applications, such as industrial control, where it can be used to automate measurements without directly manipulating objects.

The aim of this article is to provide as comprehensive an overview as possible of image analysis. The first part presents the main applications of image analysis. The second, more methodological part, explains the successive stages of an analysis program: acquisition, segmentation, measurements and interpretation of results.

Acknowledgements: The author would like to thank P. Felman, M. Ffrench and C.S. Serre for the loan of documents.