DIGITAL IMAGE-PROCESSING OF IMAGES OBTAINED WITH A PU-BE (SIMILAR-TO-10(7)) NEUTRON SOURCE

A Nuclear particle scintillation imaging system, developed earlier by the authors, has been upgraded and tested for its radiographic perform ance using a low intensity Pu-Be (similar to 10(7) n/s) source. The ma in objective of this work was to check the feasibility of a neutron ra diography facility using a low intensity Pu-Be isotopic source and eva luate its performance. To accumulate the neutron exposure, an on-line frame integration method was used for imaging static objects. Because integrated images from the system were mottled and poor in contrast, a video image processing system was employed to enhance the quality of the integrated images. Significant improvements in image quality are s een, when image processing techniques such as smoothing, contrast stre tching, edge enhancement, and histogram equalization are employed. Thi s article provides an overview of the improvement in the image quality consequent to implementation of image processing techniques. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.