An implementation of the Hough transformation for the identification and labelling of fixed period sinusoidal curves

Hough transforms have long been used as computationally efficient methods for detecting particular shapes in images. This paper describes a practical implementation of a Hough transform for the characterisation of rock fractures in acoustic borehole images, where planar fractures ideally result in sinusoidal curves with a period equal to the perimeter of the borehole. The three remaining degrees of freedom of the sinusoid, namely its amplitude, baseline position, and phase, are successfully determined in ultrasound return images with considerable noise and clutter. (C) 1999 Academic Press.