  In this paper we focus, from a mathematical point of view, on properties and
performances of some local interpolation schemes for landmark-based image
registration. Precisely, we consider modified Shepard's interpolants,
Wendland's functions, and Lobachevsky splines. They are quite unlike each
other, but all of them are compactly supported and enjoy interesting
theoretical and computational properties. In particular, we point out some
unusual forms of the considered functions. Finally, detailed numerical
comparisons are given, considering also Gaussians and thin plate splines, which
are really globally supported but widely used in applications.
