Edge-preserving restoration of low-light-level microscope images

The low light inmtensity of fluorescence has always been a serious limitation to its routine use in biology and biomedicine. Since average users in digital microscopy usually possess a commercial TV camera, which is not always a sophisticated or very expensive camera, procedures for software image restoration can represent an alternative and valid solution for studying 'in vivo' biological events. In this paper we present a novel algorithm for edge-preserving image restoration, and show the results of its application on a fluorescence test image. The quality of the restored image is comparable to the quality of the image acquired by a high quality camera. © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd.