Image-Based Analysis of Seed Coat Fragments in Cotton Fabrics

Seed coat fragments (SCFs) in cotton fabrics are defects that negatively impact the value and quality of cotton if they are visible. The ability to accurately and rapidly count SCFs is important to efficient quality control and for research into improved cotton wet processing. Innovative scouring/bleaching using N-[4-(triethylammoniomethyl)benzoyl]butyrolactam chloride (TBBC) under neutral conditions produces satisfactory whiteness, but inferior performance in SCF removal. In this study, an image-based program was developed to quantitatively analyze SCFs based on their appearance on bleached cotton fabrics. With optimized thresholds, the program was capable of counting SCFs in fabric images semi-automatically, with a diagnostic sensitivity of 94.7% and an accuracy of 94.1%. Compared to the conventional method, image-based counting gave high accuracy and sensitivity.