Registration for images in the presence of additive and multiplicative fixed-pattern noise

Image registration under conditions of fixed-pattern noise is a difficult problem that has not been solved in the literature. While traditional registration methods are adequate for additive random noise, these are not suited to spatially invariant noise that is additive or multiplicative. We present a method for image registration using a difference operation in the frequency domain. Shift values are then computed by dividing by the object Fourier transform and inverse transforming. The method described is valid for both additive and multiplicative noise and determines shifts with sub-pixel accuracy. Additionally, minimal prior knowledge of the corrupting pattern is required. We compare our method with previous registration methods for varying amounts of noise. Results are presented for both simulated images and images recorded from a thermal camera with significant fixed-pattern noise.