Interest in digital image processing techniques dates back to the early 1920's, when digitized pictures of world news events were first transmitted by submarine cable between New York and London. Applications of digital image processing concepts, however, did not become widespread until the middle 1960's, when third-generation digital computers began to offer the speed and storage capabilities required for practical implementation of image processing algorithms. Since then, this area has experienced vigorous growth, having been a subject of interdisciplinary research in fields ranging from engineering and computer science to biology, chemistry, and medicine.
