System and method for segmenting an electronic image

1. A method for identifying foreground segments of a JPEG image, comprising:

selecting a block in the JPEG image;

extracting a set of DCT coefficients from the block, wherein the set comprises a first N AC components of the block;

computing a sum of the set of DCT coefficients;

analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment; and

outputting an identified foreground segment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the JPEG image comprises a compressed image of a bank check.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein N is 16.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment includes the step of comparing the sum to a threshold value.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising the further step of computing a sum for each block in the JPEG image.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment includes the step of comparing the sum to a second sum computed for a neighboring block.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the step of analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment includes the further step of identifying the block as part of a foreground segment if the value of the sum is substantially larger than the value of the second sum.

8. A program product stored on a recordable medium for identifying foreground segments in a compressed electronic image, the program product comprising:

means for extracting a set of frequency coefficients from each block of the compressed electronic image, wherein each set comprises a first N frequency coefficients of the block;

means for computing a sum of the extracted frequency coefficients for each block;

means for analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment; and

means for indicating that the block is part of a foreground segment.

9. The program product of claim 8 , wherein N is 16.

10. The program product of claim 8 , wherein the set of frequency coefficients comprises JPEG DCT components.

11. The program product of claim 8 , wherein the means for analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment compares the sum to a second sum computed for a neighboring block.

12. The program product of claim 8 , wherein the means for analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment compares the sum to a threshold value.

13. A system for identifying foreground segments of a JPEG image, comprising:

a system for extracting a set of DCT coefficients from each block of the JPEG image;

a system for computing a sum of the extracted DCT coefficients for each block; and

a system for analyzing the sum computed for each block to determine which blocks in the JPEG image are part of a foreground segment.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein each set comprises a first N AC components of the block.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein N is 16.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the system for analyzing the sum computed for each block to determine which blocks in the JPEG image are part of a foreground segment compares a first sum for a first block to a second sum for a neighboring block.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the system for analyzing identifies the first block as part of a foreground segment if the first sum is substantially greater than the second sum.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the system for analyzing the sum computed for each block to determine which blocks in the JPEG image are part of a foreground segment compares each sum to a threshold value.