Noniterative blind data restoration by use of an extracted filter function

A signal-processing algorithm has been developed where a filter function is extracted from degraded data through mathematical operations. The filter function can then be used to restore much of the degraded content of the data through use of a deconvolution algorithm. This process can be performed without prior knowledge of the detection system, a technique known as blind deconvolution. The extraction process, designated self-deconvolving data reconstruction algorithm, has been used successfully to restore digitized photographs, digitized acoustic waveforms, and other forms of data. The process is non-iterative, computationally efficient, and requires little user input. Implementation is straightforward, allowing inclusion into many types of signal-processing software and hardware. The novelty of the invention is the application of a power law and smoothing function to the degraded data in frequency space. Two methods for determining the value of the power law are discussed. The first method assumes the power law is frequency dependent. The function derived comparing the frequency spectrum of the degraded data with the spectrum of a signal with the desired frequency response. The second method assumes this function is a constant of frequency. This approach requires little knowledge of the original data or the degradation. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.