modefilt

2-D and 3-D mode filtering

Syntax

B = modefilt(A)

B = modefilt(A,filtSize)

B = modefilt(___,padopt)

Description

B = modefilt(A) performs mode filtering on the 2-D image or 3-D volume A. Each output pixel in B contains the mode (most frequently occurring value) in the neighborhood around the corresponding pixel in A. modefilt pads A by mirroring border elements.

Mode filtering can be useful for processing categorical data, where other types of filtering, such as median filtering, are not available.

B = modefilt(A,filtSize) also specifies the size of the filter neighborhood.

B = modefilt(___,padopt) also specifies how modefilt pads array boundaries.

Examples

Apply Mode Filter to Categorical Labeled Image

Load an image (img) and the corresponding categorical labeled version of the image (label) into the workspace.

load buildingPixelLabeled;

View the original image, img.

imshow(img)

View the categorical labeled image, label. The categorical image labels four separate categories: sky, grass, building, and sidewalk. For viewing, convert these categories to colors using the label2rgb function.

imshow(label2rgb(label))

Perform mode filtering on the categorical labeled image, label, using the default filter size and padding method.

 b = modefilt(label);

View the filtered categorical labeled image, b. In the filtered image, the edges between labeled regions are more distinct.

 figure
 imshow(label2rgb(b));

Use Mode Filter on Labeled Volume

Read a grayscale image of a brain MRI and the corresponding labels. The image loads in the workspace variable vol and the labels load in the workspace variable label.

dataDir = fullfile(toolboxdir("images"),"imdata","BrainMRILabeled");
load(fullfile(dataDir,"images","vol_001.mat"));
load(fullfile(dataDir,"labels","label_001.mat"));

Display the labeled volume.

viewer1 = viewer3d(BackgroundColor="white",BackgroundGradient="off",CameraZoom=1.5);
vol1 = volshow(vol,OverlayData=label,Parent=viewer1, ...
    RenderingStyle="GradientOpacity",GradientOpacityValue=0.8, ...
    Alphamap=linspace(0,0.2,256),OverlayAlpha=0.8);

Perform mode filtering on the labels, specifying the size of the filter.

labelFiltered = modefilt(label,[5 5 5]);

Display the filtered labeled volume.

viewer2 = viewer3d(BackgroundColor="white",BackgroundGradient="off",CameraZoom=1.5);
vol2 = volshow(vol,OverlayData=labelFiltered,Parent=viewer2, ...
    RenderingStyle="GradientOpacity",GradientOpacityValue=0.8, ...
    Alphamap=linspace(0,0.2,256),OverlayAlpha=0.8);

Input Arguments

A — 2-D image or 3-D volume

2-D or 3-D categorical, logical, or numeric array

2-D image or 3-D volume, specified as a categorical, logical, or numeric array.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | logical | categorical

filtSize — Filter size

vector of positive odd integers

Filter size, specified as a vector of positive odd integers. For 2-D images, specify a vector of the form [height width]. The default for 2-D images is [3 3]. For 3-D volumes, specify a vector of the form [height width depth]. The default for 3-D volumes is [3 3 3].

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

padopt — Padding method

"symmetric" (default) | "replicate" | "zeros"

Padding method, specified as one of the following values.

Value	Description	Example
"symmetric"	Pad array with a mirror reflection of itself.	$$\left[\begin{array}{ccc}3& 1& 4\\ 1& 5& 9\\ 2& 6& 5\end{array}\right]\to \left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}5& 1& 1& 5& 9& 9& 5\\ 1& 3& 3& 1& 4& 4& 1\\ 1& 3& 3& 1& 4& 4& 1\\ 5& 1& 1& 5& 9& 9& 5\\ 6& 2& 2& 6& 5& 5& 6\\ 6& 2& 2& 6& 5& 5& 6\\ 5& 1& 1& 5& 9& 9& 5\end{array}\right]$$
"replicate"	Pad array by repeating border elements.	$$\left[\begin{array}{ccc}3& 1& 4\\ 1& 5& 9\\ 2& 6& 5\end{array}\right]\to \left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}3& 3& 3& 1& 4& 4& 4\\ 3& 3& 3& 1& 4& 4& 4\\ 3& 3& 3& 1& 4& 4& 4\\ 1& 1& 1& 5& 9& 9& 9\\ 2& 2& 2& 6& 5& 5& 5\\ 2& 2& 2& 6& 5& 5& 5\\ 2& 2& 2& 6& 5& 5& 5\end{array}\right]$$
"zeros"	Pad array with 0s for numeric data or with <undefined>s for categorical data.	$$\left[\begin{array}{ccc}3& 1& 4\\ 1& 5& 9\\ 2& 6& 5\end{array}\right]\to \left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 3& 1& 4& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 1& 5& 9& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 2& 6& 5& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0& 0\end{array}\right]$$

Data Types: char | string

Output Arguments

B — Filtered image or volume

numeric array

Filtered image or volume, returned as a numeric array of the same size and class as the input image A.

Tips

• When the neighborhood has more than one pixel in a tie for the mode value, the function uses the following tie-breaking algorithm:

  • If the center pixel is one of the mode values in the tie, the function uses this value.

  • If the center pixel is not one of the mode values in the tie, the function uses the mode with the smallest numeric value.

  • For categorical input, the function chooses the first category (among the categories tied for mode) that appears in the list returned by categories(A).

• modefilt treats RGB images as 3-D volumes. To do channel-wise filtering of an RGB image, specify filtSize as [3 3 1], as in this code: b = modefilt(a,[3 3 1]); .

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation

Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

Usage notes and limitations:

• modefilt supports the generation of C and C++ code (requires MATLAB^® Coder™). For more information, see Code Generation for Image Processing.

• Only 1-D and 2-D inputs are supported.

• Input images of data type categorical are not supported.

• The padopt argument must be a compile-time constant.

Thread-Based Environment

Run code in the background using MATLAB® backgroundPool or accelerate code with Parallel Computing Toolbox™ ThreadPool.

This function fully supports thread-based environments. For more information, see Run MATLAB Functions in Thread-Based Environment.

Version History

Introduced in R2020a

R2022b: Support for thread-based environments

modefilt now supports thread-based environments.