Thinning

The thinning effect shrinks structures to their main structural features comparable to an image of an human body reduced to its skeleton. The effect processes the darkest or the brightest image elements. To analyze thinned structures, see the output values in the object recognition section. We strongly suggest to apply the "Z matrix manipulation" tool and limit the z scale to the main features of your interest for best results.

Read on for detailed explanation about

Input data

Only z matrix data is appropriate.

Where to apply

The effect can be applied to the entire image or to a previously selected region. Uncheck or check the option "Apply to selection only".

Settings

Specify if the darkest or brightest structures should be processed by selecting the "Dark" or "Light" option. Define the limit of the processed data by adjusting the "Threshold" slider. If you would like to invert the colors, check the "Invert output" option.

Note: We strongly suggest to apply the "Z matrix manipulation" tool and limit the z scale to the main features of your interest before you apply the thinning effect. This guarantees best results.

Border pixel handling

The effect compares a current analyzed pixel with its neighbor pixels. At the image borders the missing neighbor pixels can be handled in two different ways:

Replicate: The missing neighbor pixels are duplicated from their mirror-inverted counterpart within the image dimensions.
Wrap around: The origin image will be duplicated and periodically attached to itself. Thus, dealing with image borders is avoided. But note: This option should not be applied to tilted images because height differences might overcast the features of your interest.

Shortcut keys

The execution of the function may be started by pressing two different shortcut keys:

Return: The function will be applied to all selected images.
Shift+Return: The function will be applied to the next selected image only.

For more shortcut keys see our detailed list.