The generation, storage and processing of digital images plays a fundamental role in the information technology revolution. Digital imaging processing technology has developed markedly over the last ten years and more and more information is being conveyed through the display and analysis of digital images. The way in which image data is stored and processed is fundamental to all aspects of IT. Examples include remote sensing using the new generation of digital satellites which carry a range of different sensors that, when coupled with suitable image processing technology, can provide a wealth of information to geologists, geographers and atmospheric physicists used in everything from the exploration of oil and other natural resources to environmental monitoring and agricultural development in the Third World. Other examples include the use of image processing in medical imaging for use in diagnosis using conventional X-ray Computed Tomography to research into the behaviour of the human brain using real time Magnetic Resonance Imaging. This book consists of twenty-one papers which collectively cover a broad range of image processing problems and the way on which solutions to these problems are used in different area of sciences and technology. The papers present details of the way in which computers of varying processing power can be programmed to store image efficiently, resolve features and patterns in an image that are either time consuming or impossible for human interpreters and develop machines that can `see', like humans. The book covers a wide range of applications which include the use of lasers for studying the dynamic behaviour of mechanical components, overviews of image processing in remote sensing and medical imaging and the application of a new form of geometry (fractal geometry) for rcognizing patterns which is not possible with conventional data processing. The book will be of value to any engineer, scientists and technologist who wants to acquire information on current research issues in image processing by reading a set of papers prepared by some of the world's leading specialists.
