Image analysis is the process of quantifying some aspect of an image—its particle size distribution, for example. Manual methods were in use long before computers made image analysis much faster and more reproducible. Linear measurements of diameter, point counting to measure volume fraction, and intercept counting to determine grain size have been used for over 100 years. Automatic image analysis (AIA), however, can make more measurements, and even calculate derived measurements, such as aspect ratio or circularity. AIA of a specimen or micrograph, of course, is only as good as the contrast mechanism used, so the imaging signal must be chosen carefully to reveal to the computer what is to be measured. Obtaining sufficient contrast is often the limiting task.

Once an imaging signal is chosen and the digital resolution set, the computer can analyze the image. The feature descriptors can be generic: