A fast implementation of 3-D binary morphological transformations

This paper proposes a fast algorithm for implementing the basic operation o f Minkowski addition for the special case of binary three-dimensional (3-D) images, using 3-D structuring elements of arbitrary size and shape. The ap plication of the proposed algorithm for all the other morphological transfo rmations is straightforward, as they can all be expressed in terms of Minko wski addition. The efficiency of the algorithm is analyzed and some experim ental results of its application are presented. As shown, the efficiency of the algorithm increases with the size of the structuring element.