2.Ethics in image processing Many of the image processing techniques we have lea
ID: 3715827 • Letter: 2
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2.Ethics in image processing Many of the image processing techniques we have learned in this course are readily available to the public in Adobe Photoshop and other image processing software. Image processing can be used to change an image in ways that can twist the truth in unethical ways. At the following link you will find a research poster that talks about ethical issues when applying image processing to microscope images in biology. When a scientist publishes his or her research results, there may be a temptation to make the results appear better than they are. If the results are based on images, then image processing can be used to distort the truth. Read the article at the following link, which talks about the ethics of image processing in microscopy mic SCO rizona ital-ima Based on this article, answer the following questions a) In my biology research paper, I want to show that my microscope technique is better than another one. In my paper I show an image of cells made using my technique, and anothe:r image of the same cells made using the other technique. When I look at the two images in the PDF file of my paper, the image made with my technique doesn't look much better than the other image, so I apply histogram equalization to mine so that the contrast looks better. Do you think this is ethically acceptable? Why or why not? b)Consider the same situation as in part (a). Instead of applying histogram equalization, I increase the brightness of both images equally so that the differences can be seen more clearly. Do you think this is ethically acceptable? Why or why not? c) In my microscope image there are tiny dots seen on the cells, and I don't know what they are. I'm afraid that people reading my paper might focus on these tiny dots instead of looking at the main point of my paper, which is how good my new microscope technique is. The dots are not really important to my technique, so I apply a median filter to remove them. Do you think this is ethically acceptable? Why or why not? When is it acceptable to crop an image (show just a piece of it) and when is it not acceptable? d)Explanation / Answer
a)
Histogram equalization is a technique to adjust image contrast. However, using this method will result in significant adjustment in contrast. Now as per Digital Imaging Ethics small amount of ajustments in brightness and contrast are acceptable, but large adjustment on the same are unethical practice. Henceforth, it is unethical to apply histogram equalization technique to significantly adjust the contrast in your image. As a best practice any use of histogram equalization should be reported in the figure legend or the methods section.
b)
As per Digital Imaging Ethics, applying same post-image processing on the images to compare is perfectly acceptable. Hence, increasing brightness of both images is as per Digital Image Ethics Practice.
c)
It may be possible that a reader may interpret the image in different manner than what you though of the image. Further, as you are also not sure of the cause of the tiny dots, it will not be ethical to remove them and it is better to leave them as is.
d)
It is completely ethical to crop an image, if you want to
However, it is completely unethical to crop an image if the same changes the meaning and context of the image or hide something from reader that disagrees with the hypotheses.
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