Enhanced Watershed Algorithm with Morphological Reconstruction

The enhanced watershed algorithm employs morphological reconstruction-based opening and closing operations to effectively mitigate over-segmentation problems. This approach is particularly advantageous for medical blood cell segmentation applications. By implementing gradient modification through morphological reconstruction before applying the watershed transform, the algorithm achieves more precise cell boundary detection. Key implementation steps include: 1) Applying morphological opening-by-reconstruction to remove small bright regions while preserving overall cell shapes, 2) Using closing-by-reconstruction to fill dark gaps within cells, and 3) Performing marker-controlled watershed transformation on the enhanced gradient map. This refined algorithm provides a robust methodology for handling challenging segmentation scenarios, delivering superior segmentation accuracy that significantly improves medical diagnostic precision and efficiency. The marker generation process typically involves combining regional minima detection with size filtering to create reliable internal markers for watershed transformation.