It is demonstrated how the Hermite transform can be used for image coding and analysis. Hierarchical coding structures based on increasingly specified basic patterns, i.e. general 2-D patterns, general 1-D patterns, and specific 1-D patterns such as edges and corners, are presented. In the image coding application, the relation with existing pyramid coders is described. A new coding scheme, based on local one-dimensional image approximations, is introduced. In the image analysis application, the relation between the Hermite transform and existing line/edge detection schemes is described. It is shown that, by concentrating on more specific patterns, the coding efficiency can be increased since fewer coefficients have to be coded. Meanwhile, ...