According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of accurately removing the noise component from the image and providing an image with excellent visibility by accurately determining the presence or absence of noise. That is, the determination of the noise component of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is determined by the number of peripheral pixels whose pixel values are similar to the target pixel. In this way, it is possible to accurately determine a pixel of interest having a pixel value that is significantly different from that of the surrounding pixels as a noise component. The present invention can perform noise determination that faithfully represents poor visual visibility. If such a noise component is determined, an image processing apparatus capable of generating a processed image from which the noise component has been accurately removed can be provided.本発明によれば、正確にノイズの有無の判断をすることにより、画像よりノイズ成分を確実に除き、視認性に優れた画像を提供できる画像処理装置が提供できる。すなわち、本発明に係る画像処理装置のノイズ成分の判定は、注目画素に画素値が類似する周辺画素の個数で決められる。この様にすることで、周辺画素に対して際立って画素値の異なる注目画素を正確にノイズ成分と判定することができる。本発明は、見た目の視認性の悪さを忠実に表したノイズ判定ができる。この様なノイズ成分の判定を行えば、ノイズ成分が正確に除かれた処理画像を生成することができる画像処理装置が提供できる。
