Separating the objects or pores

Hello, I am working to characterize a porous media and I want to identify each pore (object) individually. But some pores are connected or overlapped and I should use a method to separate them. Actually, I know about the Watershed method, but I want to know is there any other method to separate connected pores or objects (2D or 3D)?

Regards Saeed

[Sean de Wolski]

If pores are connected, then aren't they the same pore?

Post an image to clarify your goals.

Answer 1

[Jan]

Two overlapping pores are one pore. So you do not search for the area/volume of pores, but for circles or spheres.

See this pick of the week: http://blogs.mathworks.com/pick/2008/05/23/detecting-circles-in-an-image/

[Sean de Wolski]

<humor> !! </humor>

[Jan]

It sounds really equal, doesn't it? Most of all if a German pronounce it.

Answer 2

[Image Analyst]

I agree with Sean. Of course you don't separate them. A pore is a pore, a hole is a hole. Whoever said a hole had to be round? In the real world (like on micrographs), you're bound to have a variety of hole shapes and sizes. Why would you want to ignore that and pretend artificially that they are two separate, independent, unconnected holes when they aren't. Now if you have two flat layers of films with pores of the underlying one only visible through the pores of the upper one, then that's a different story (but ultimately unsolveable since you can't know if you were seeing all the pores on the underneath later).

Answer 3

[saeed]

Thank you everybody, I think to explain my problem it is better to see a cross section image of what I work on it. You can find the original image and the watershed result in following address. As I want to work on the interconnections between the pores, I want to separate the pores. Beforehand I am appreciated for your consideration.

http://www.roborealm.com/uploads/23006_1.jpg

http://www.roborealm.com/uploads/23006_2.jpg