In microscopy a digital pixel-accurate intensity processing (PAIP) technology for differential contrast enhancement became available for precise extraction and display of image information. Utilizing PC-based massively parallel processing at 1,600 million instructions per second (MIPS), the PAIP image enhancement can be performed on/off-line in near-real-time for objective image evaluation of 8-12 bit data.We used a PC-based workstation (PiXision PiX4: Visionary Systems Inc., New Haven, CT) on-line in combination with a JSM-890 FSEM (JEOL, Peabody, MA) as well as off-line with imported digital micrograph data and analyzed digital image contrast characteristics. The system provided automated intensity processing of any data independent of image content, size and depth. The images were first smoothed through averaging within a defined significant intensity range (IRs). Each pixel was provided with a variable automatically adjusting local averaging mask, generating a processing characteristic of non-linear point processing. Then, since the spacial processing was pixel-accurate (no spacial distortions of maintained intensity structures), all the contrast information eliminated by the smoothing could be recovered through subtraction of the smoothed from the original or previously smoothed data, followed by linear scaling to 8 bit.