Multi-focus image fusion using pulse coupled neural network

This paper presents a method for multi-focus image fusion by using pulse coupled neural network (PCNN). The registered source images are first decomposed into blocks and the size of the image blocks is 8 × 8 pixels. Feature maps are obtained by computing the energy of image Laplacian of each block. Input the feature maps into PCNN as external stimulus. The final fused image can be constructed by selecting the image blocks from the source images based on the comparison of the outputs of the PCNN. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms some previous fusion methods, both in visual effect and objective evaluation criteria.