tz_maskimgs.m

function regions = tz_maskimgs(img,masks)
%TZ_MASKIMGS Extract masked regions from an image
%   REGIONS = TZ_MASKIMGS(IMG,MASKS) returns a cell array of images that
%   are regions extracted from IMG specified by MASKS. If MASKS is also a 
%   cell array, then each element of MASKS should be a matrix that 
%   is as large as IMG. A sparse matrix is also allowable. Any pixels no
%   greater than 0 will be taken as background. If MASKS is a matrix, the
%   regions will be defined as a group of pixels that have the same gray
%   level, which must be a postitive integer. The integers must be
%   continuous and start from 1.
%   
%   See also

%   10-Nov-2005 Initial write T. Zhao
%   Copyright (c) Center for Bioimage Informatics, CMU

if nargin < 2
    error('Exactly 2 arguments are required')
end

if iscell(masks) %cell array mask format
    nregion = length(masks);
else %matrix mask format
    if any(size(masks)~=size(img))
        error('Size unmatched.');
    end 
    nregion = double(max(masks(:)));
end

regions = {};

for k=1:nregion
    img2 = img;
    if iscell(masks)
        mask = masks{k};
    else
        mask = (masks==k);
    end
    img2(mask<=0) = 0;
    regions{end+1} = tz_imcropbg2(img2,mask);
end