Image processing apparatus and image processing method

摘要

An image processing method and an image processing apparatus are disclosed, in which curved linear objects and uneven linear objects as well as rectilinear objects can be detected easily and accurately. Edge pixels P 1 extracted from a gray-scale image to be processed are sequentially considered to search for an edge pixel having an opposite direction of density gradient to each of the edge pixels P 1 within the range of a predetermined length W along the direction orthogonal to the edges. Once an edge pixel P 2 meeting these conditions is extracted, a line segment having a length L is set extending in the direction C parallel to the edge of the edge pixels P 1 from an intermediate point Q between the extracted edge pixel P 2 and the edge pixel P 1 under consideration.