Pruning (morphology)

The pruning algorithm is a technique used in digital image processing based on mathematical morphology.^[1] It is used as a complement to the skeleton and thinning algorithms to remove unwanted parasitic components (spurs). In this case 'parasitic' components refer to branches of a line which are not key to the overall shape of the line and should be removed. These components can often be created by edge detection algorithms or digitization. Common uses for pruning include automatic recognition of hand-printed characters. Often inconsistency in letter writing creates unwanted spurs that need to be eliminated for better characterization.^[2]

^ Russ, John C. (2011). The image processing handbook (6th ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4398-4045-0.
^ Gonzalez, Rafael C.; Woods, Richard E. (2008). Digital image processing (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0131687288.

[1] Russ, John C. (2011). The image processing handbook (6th ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4398-4045-0.

[2] Gonzalez, Rafael C.; Woods, Richard E. (2008). Digital image processing (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0131687288.

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