2D Prony-Huang transform: a new tool for 2D spectral analysis

This paper provides an extension of the 1D Hilbert Huang transform for the analysis of images using recent optimization techniques. The proposed method consists of: 1) adaptively decomposing an image into oscillating parts called intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) using a mode decomposition procedure and 2) providing a local spectral analysis of the obtained IMFs in order to get the local amplitudes, frequencies, and orientations. For the decomposition step, we propose two robust 2D mode decompositions based on nonsmooth convex optimization: 1) a genuine 2D approach, which constrains the local extrema of the IMFs and 2) a pseudo-2D approach, which separately constrains the extrema of lines, columns, and diagonals. The spectral analysis step is an optimization strategy based on Prony annihilation property and applied on small square patches of the IMFs. The resulting 2D Prony–Huang transform is validated on simulated and real data.