Histogram-based segmentation of quantum images

In this paper we investigate the use of quantum computing systems in the field of image processing. We consider histogram-based image processing operations and develop quantum algorithms for histogram computation and threshold-based segmentation. The underlying principle used for constructing the proposed quantum algorithms is to reformulate them in order to exploit the performance of the quantum Fourier transform and of quantum amplitude amplification. We show that, compared to the classical correspondents, a significant speedup can be achieved by expressing parts of the computational process in terms of problems that can be solved using these quantum techniques.(C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.