Image analysis software is used to enhance, identify, or quantify features in an image by breaking down or applying a digital image filter. Image analysis is a form of information processing used to retrieve information from images, generally digital images. With the growing use of digital images, imaging analysis is performed more frequently using image analysis software and digital image processing techniques. Digital image analysis software frequently use computer algorithms to process the image and analysis data. Algorithms are becoming much more complex in image analysis software systems and allow for image interpretation that would not be possible with analog analysis methods.
Selecting imaging analysis software requires an analysis of performance specifications and special features. Specifications include compatible imaging devices, image file formats, image modes, image adjustment, zoom tools, editing and annotation functions, filters, multi-focus enhancement, and report generation. Features include live measurement and overlay, manual or automatic calibration, image stitching, and three-dimensional (3D) visualization. Some imaging analysis software includes an imaging toolkit with functions for compressing, decompressing, displaying, and printing images. A digital image filter is an imaging toolkit feature that allows the user to reduce visible noise and grain produced in the image by the digital camera.
Common applications for an image analysis software system include facial recognition, satellite image processing, robotics, homeland security, document processing, medical image processing, and microscope image processing. Today’s image process and analysis software offer users more accurate and complex interpretation of images. While image analysis software can still be used to perform relatively simple tasks like reading bar codes, new image analysis software systems are being developed to perform increasingly complicated tasks like automatic facial identification. When linked with other database systems, these image analysis software systems can be transformed from simple image processing tools into powerful information analysis systems that can accurately interpret or predict events.