Analysis of the properties of median and weighted median filters using threshold logic and stack filter representation

The deterministic properties of weighted median (WM) filters are analyzed. Threshold decomposition and the stacking property together establish a unique relationship between integer and binary domain filtering. The authors present a method to find the weighted median filter which is equivalent to a stack filter defined by a positive Boolean function. Because the cascade of WM filters can always be expressed as a single stack filter this allows expression of the cascade of WM filters as a single WM filter. A direct application is the computation of the output distribution of a cascade of WM filters. The same method is used to find a nonrecursive expansion of a recursive WM filter. As applications of theoretical results, several interesting deterministic and statistical properties of WM filters are derived.