RESUMO
The slanted-edge method for modulation transfer function (MTF) measurement uses edge target images whose gray values are often affected by noise and other factors, decreasing its accuracy. We first analyze the ill-posedness in the edge spread function (ESF) regression caused by noise. Second, we propose a regularized slanted-edge method to solve this problem by incorporating a Tikhonov regularization term. Combined with varying precision weights, the ESF is solved using the variational principle, and the MTF is estimated using the regularized ESF. The regularized slanted-edge method is verified for Gaussian, gamma, and Rayleigh noise. The results show that our method improves the accuracy by 0.01-9.02% and 4.33% on average. The proposed method is more robust to noise and accurate than the slanted-edge method.
RESUMO
The slanted edge method is a basic approach for measuring the modulation transfer function (MTF) of imaging systems; however, its measurement accuracy is limited in practice. Theoretical analysis of the slanted edge MTF measurement method performed in this paper reveals that inappropriate edge angles and random noise reduce this accuracy. The error caused by edge angles is analyzed using sampling and reconstruction theory. Furthermore, an error model combining noise and edge angles is proposed. We verify the analyses and model with respect to (i) the edge angle, (ii) a statistical analysis of the measurement error, (iii) the full width at half-maximum of a point spread function, and (iv) the error model. The experimental results verify the theoretical findings. This research can be referential for applications of the slanted edge MTF measurement method.