Automatic Sea Bird Detection from High Resolution Aerial Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mader, S.; Grenzdörffer, G. J.

2016-06-01

Great efforts are presently taken in the scientific community to develop computerized and (fully) automated image processing methods allowing for an efficient and automatic monitoring of sea birds and marine mammals in ever-growing amounts of aerial imagery. Currently the major part of the processing, however, is still conducted by especially trained professionals, visually examining the images and detecting and classifying the requested subjects. This is a very tedious task, particularly when the rate of void images regularly exceeds the mark of 90%. In the content of this contribution we will present our work aiming to support the processing of aerial images by modern methods from the field of image processing. We will especially focus on the combination of local, region-based feature detection and piecewise global image segmentation for automatic detection of different sea bird species. Large image dimensions resulting from the use of medium and large-format digital cameras in aerial surveys inhibit the applicability of image processing methods based on global operations. In order to efficiently handle those image sizes and to nevertheless take advantage of globally operating segmentation algorithms, we will describe the combined usage of a simple performant feature detector based on local operations on the original image with a complex global segmentation algorithm operating on extracted sub-images. The resulting exact segmentation of possible candidates then serves as a basis for the determination of feature vectors for subsequent elimination of false candidates and for classification tasks.

Intelligent Vision On The SM9O Mini-Computer Basis And Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawryszkiw, J.

1985-02-01

Distinction has to be made between image processing and vision Image processing finds its roots in the strong tradition of linear signal processing and promotes geometrical transform techniques, such as fi I tering , compression, and restoration. Its purpose is to transform an image for a human observer to easily extract from that image information significant for him. For example edges after a gradient operator, or a specific direction after a directional filtering operation. Image processing consists in fact in a set of local or global space-time transforms. The interpretation of the final image is done by the human observer. The purpose of vision is to extract the semantic content of the image. The machine can then understand that content, and run a process of decision, which turns into an action. Thus, intel I i gent vision depends on - Image processing - Pattern recognition - Artificial intel I igence

A 3D THz image processing methodology for a fully integrated, semi-automatic and near real-time operational system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brook, A.; Cristofani, E.; Vandewal, M.; Matheis, C.; Jonuscheit, J.; Beigang, R.

2012-05-01

The present study proposes a fully integrated, semi-automatic and near real-time mode-operated image processing methodology developed for Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) THz images with the center frequencies around: 100 GHz and 300 GHz. The quality control of aeronautics composite multi-layered materials and structures using Non-Destructive Testing is the main focus of this work. Image processing is applied on the 3-D images to extract useful information. The data is processed by extracting areas of interest. The detected areas are subjected to image analysis for more particular investigation managed by a spatial model. Finally, the post-processing stage examines and evaluates the spatial accuracy of the extracted information.

Processing of Mars Exploration Rover Imagery for Science and Operations Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, Douglass A.; Deen, Robert G.; Andres, Paul M.; Zamani, Payam; Mortensen, Helen B.; Chen, Amy C.; Cayanan, Michael K.; Hall, Jeffrey R.; Klochko, Vadim S.; Pariser, Oleg;

Image model: new perspective for image processing and computer vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziou, Djemel; Allili, Madjid

2004-05-01

We propose a new image model in which the image support and image quantities are modeled using algebraic topology concepts. The image support is viewed as a collection of chains encoding combination of pixels grouped by dimension and linking different dimensions with the boundary operators. Image quantities are encoded using the notion of cochain which associates values for pixels of given dimension that can be scalar, vector, or tensor depending on the problem that is considered. This allows obtaining algebraic equations directly from the physical laws. The coboundary and codual operators, which are generic operations on cochains allow to formulate the classical differential operators as applied for field functions and differential forms in both global and local forms. This image model makes the association between the image support and the image quantities explicit which results in several advantages: it allows the derivation of efficient algorithms that operate in any dimension and the unification of mathematics and physics to solve classical problems in image processing and computer vision. We show the effectiveness of this model by considering the isotropic diffusion.

Processing Cones: A Computational Structure for Image Analysis.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

image analysis applications, referred to as a processing cone, is described and sample algorithms are presented. A fundamental characteristic of the structure is its hierarchical organization into two-dimensional arrays of decreasing resolution. In this architecture, a protypical function is defined on a local window of data and applied uniformly to all windows in a parallel manner. Three basic modes of processing are supported in the cone: reduction operations (upward processing), horizontal operations (processing at a single level) and projection operations (downward

Sensing system for detection and control of deposition on pendant tubes in recovery and power boilers

DOEpatents

Kychakoff, George [Maple Valley, WA; Afromowitz, Martin A [Mercer Island, WA; Hogle, Richard E [Olympia, WA

2008-10-14

A system for detection and control of deposition on pendant tubes in recovery and power boilers includes one or more deposit monitoring sensors operating in infrared regions of about 4 or 8.7 microns and directly producing images of the interior of the boiler, or producing feeding signals to a data processing system for information to enable a distributed control system by which the boilers are operated to operate said boilers more efficiently. The data processing system includes an image pre-processing circuit in which a 2-D image formed by the video data input is captured, and includes a low pass filter for performing noise filtering of said video input. It also includes an image compensation system for array compensation to correct for pixel variation and dead cells, etc., and for correcting geometric distortion. An image segmentation module receives a cleaned image from the image pre-processing circuit for separating the image of the recovery boiler interior into background, pendant tubes, and deposition. It also accomplishes thresholding/clustering on gray scale/texture and makes morphological transforms to smooth regions, and identifies regions by connected components. An image-understanding unit receives a segmented image sent from the image segmentation module and matches derived regions to a 3-D model of said boiler. It derives a 3-D structure the deposition on pendant tubes in the boiler and provides the information about deposits to the plant distributed control system for more efficient operation of the plant pendant tube cleaning and operating systems.

Geometric correction of synchronous scanned Operational Modular Imaging Spectrometer II hyperspectral remote sensing images using spatial positioning data of an inertial navigation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xiaohu; Neubauer, Franz; Zhao, Dong; Xu, Shichao

2015-01-01

The high-precision geometric correction of airborne hyperspectral remote sensing image processing was a hard nut to crack, and conventional methods of remote sensing image processing by selecting ground control points to correct the images are not suitable in the correction process of airborne hyperspectral image. The optical scanning system of an inertial measurement unit combined with differential global positioning system (IMU/DGPS) is introduced to correct the synchronous scanned Operational Modular Imaging Spectrometer II (OMIS II) hyperspectral remote sensing images. Posture parameters, which were synchronized with the OMIS II, were first obtained from the IMU/DGPS. Second, coordinate conversion and flight attitude parameters' calculations were conducted. Third, according to the imaging principle of OMIS II, mathematical correction was applied and the corrected image pixels were resampled. Then, better image processing results were achieved.

Image Algebra Matlab language version 2.3 for image processing and compression research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmalz, Mark S.; Ritter, Gerhard X.; Hayden, Eric

2010-08-01

Image algebra is a rigorous, concise notation that unifies linear and nonlinear mathematics in the image domain. Image algebra was developed under DARPA and US Air Force sponsorship at University of Florida for over 15 years beginning in 1984. Image algebra has been implemented in a variety of programming languages designed specifically to support the development of image processing and computer vision algorithms and software. The University of Florida has been associated with development of the languages FORTRAN, Ada, Lisp, and C++. The latter implementation involved a class library, iac++, that supported image algebra programming in C++. Since image processing and computer vision are generally performed with operands that are array-based, the Matlab™ programming language is ideal for implementing the common subset of image algebra. Objects include sets and set operations, images and operations on images, as well as templates and image-template convolution operations. This implementation, called Image Algebra Matlab (IAM), has been found to be useful for research in data, image, and video compression, as described herein. Due to the widespread acceptance of the Matlab programming language in the computing community, IAM offers exciting possibilities for supporting a large group of users. The control over an object's computational resources provided to the algorithm designer by Matlab means that IAM programs can employ versatile representations for the operands and operations of the algebra, which are supported by the underlying libraries written in Matlab. In a previous publication, we showed how the functionality of IAC++ could be carried forth into a Matlab implementation, and provided practical details of a prototype implementation called IAM Version 1. In this paper, we further elaborate the purpose and structure of image algebra, then present a maturing implementation of Image Algebra Matlab called IAM Version 2.3, which extends the previous implementation of IAM to include polymorphic operations over different point sets, as well as recursive convolution operations and functional composition. We also show how image algebra and IAM can be employed in image processing and compression research, as well as algorithm development and analysis.

SAR image formation with azimuth interpolation after azimuth transform

DOEpatents

Doerry,; Armin W. , Martin; Grant D. , Holzrichter; Michael, W [Albuquerque, NM

2008-07-08

Two-dimensional SAR data can be processed into a rectangular grid format by subjecting the SAR data to a Fourier transform operation, and thereafter to a corresponding interpolation operation. Because the interpolation operation follows the Fourier transform operation, the interpolation operation can be simplified, and the effect of interpolation errors can be diminished. This provides for the possibility of both reducing the re-grid processing time, and improving the image quality.

Image Processing Using a Parallel Architecture.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

ENG/87D-25 Abstract This study developed a set o± low level image processing tools on a parallel computer that allows concurrent processing of images...environment, the set of tools offers a significant reduction in the time required to perform some commonly used image processing operations. vI IMAGE...step toward developing these systems, a structured set of image processing tools was implemented using a parallel computer. More important than

Real-time optical image processing techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Hua-Kuang

1988-01-01

Nonlinear real-time optical processing on spatial pulse frequency modulation has been pursued through the analysis, design, and fabrication of pulse frequency modulated halftone screens and the modification of micro-channel spatial light modulators (MSLMs). Micro-channel spatial light modulators are modified via the Fabry-Perot method to achieve the high gamma operation required for non-linear operation. Real-time nonlinear processing was performed using the halftone screen and MSLM. The experiments showed the effectiveness of the thresholding and also showed the needs of higher SBP for image processing. The Hughes LCLV has been characterized and found to yield high gamma (about 1.7) when operated in low frequency and low bias mode. Cascading of two LCLVs should also provide enough gamma for nonlinear processing. In this case, the SBP of the LCLV is sufficient but the uniformity of the LCLV needs improvement. These include image correlation, computer generation of holograms, pseudo-color image encoding for image enhancement, and associative-retrieval in neural processing. The discovery of the only known optical method for dynamic range compression of an input image in real-time by using GaAs photorefractive crystals is reported. Finally, a new architecture for non-linear multiple sensory, neural processing has been suggested.

[Bone drilling simulation by three-dimensional imaging].

PubMed

Suto, Y; Furuhata, K; Kojima, T; Kurokawa, T; Kobayashi, M

1989-06-01

The three-dimensional display technique has a wide range of medical applications. Pre-operative planning is one typical application: in orthopedic surgery, three-dimensional image processing has been used very successfully. We have employed this technique in pre-operative planning for orthopedic surgery, and have developed a simulation system for bone-drilling. Positive results were obtained by pre-operative rehearsal; when a region of interest is indicated by means of a mouse on the three-dimensional image displayed on the CRT, the corresponding region appears on the slice image which is displayed simultaneously. Consequently, the status of the bone-drilling is constantly monitored. In developing this system, we have placed emphasis on the quality of the reconstructed three-dimensional images, on fast processing, and on the easy operation of the surgical planning simulation.

An open data mining framework for the analysis of medical images: application on obstructive nephropathy microscopy images.

PubMed

Doukas, Charalampos; Goudas, Theodosis; Fischer, Simon; Mierswa, Ingo; Chatziioannou, Aristotle; Maglogiannis, Ilias

2010-01-01

This paper presents an open image-mining framework that provides access to tools and methods for the characterization of medical images. Several image processing and feature extraction operators have been implemented and exposed through Web Services. Rapid-Miner, an open source data mining system has been utilized for applying classification operators and creating the essential processing workflows. The proposed framework has been applied for the detection of salient objects in Obstructive Nephropathy microscopy images. Initial classification results are quite promising demonstrating the feasibility of automated characterization of kidney biopsy images.

Multiple-image encryption via lifting wavelet transform and XOR operation based on compressive ghost imaging scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xianye; Meng, Xiangfeng; Yang, Xiulun; Wang, Yurong; Yin, Yongkai; Peng, Xiang; He, Wenqi; Dong, Guoyan; Chen, Hongyi

2018-03-01

A multiple-image encryption method via lifting wavelet transform (LWT) and XOR operation is proposed, which is based on a row scanning compressive ghost imaging scheme. In the encryption process, the scrambling operation is implemented for the sparse images transformed by LWT, then the XOR operation is performed on the scrambled images, and the resulting XOR images are compressed in the row scanning compressive ghost imaging, through which the ciphertext images can be detected by bucket detector arrays. During decryption, the participant who possesses his/her correct key-group, can successfully reconstruct the corresponding plaintext image by measurement key regeneration, compression algorithm reconstruction, XOR operation, sparse images recovery, and inverse LWT (iLWT). Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations validate the feasibility of the proposed method.

A programmable computational image sensor for high-speed vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Shi, Cong; Long, Xitian; Wu, Nanjian

2013-08-01

In this paper we present a programmable computational image sensor for high-speed vision. This computational image sensor contains four main blocks: an image pixel array, a massively parallel processing element (PE) array, a row processor (RP) array and a RISC core. The pixel-parallel PE is responsible for transferring, storing and processing image raw data in a SIMD fashion with its own programming language. The RPs are one dimensional array of simplified RISC cores, it can carry out complex arithmetic and logic operations. The PE array and RP array can finish great amount of computation with few instruction cycles and therefore satisfy the low- and middle-level high-speed image processing requirement. The RISC core controls the whole system operation and finishes some high-level image processing algorithms. We utilize a simplified AHB bus as the system bus to connect our major components. Programming language and corresponding tool chain for this computational image sensor are also developed.

Interactive data-processing system for metallurgy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rathz, T. J.

1978-01-01

Equipment indicates that system can rapidly and accurately process metallurgical and materials-processing data for wide range of applications. Advantages include increase in contract between areas on image, ability to analyze images via operator-written programs, and space available for storing images.

BP fusion model for the detection of oil spills on the sea by remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Weiwei; An, Jubai; Zhang, Hande; Lin, Bin

2003-06-01

Oil spills are very serious marine pollution in many countries. In order to detect and identify the oil-spilled on the sea by remote sensor, scientists have to conduct a research work on the remote sensing image. As to the detection of oil spills on the sea, edge detection is an important technology in image processing. There are many algorithms of edge detection developed for image processing. These edge detection algorithms always have their own advantages and disadvantages in the image processing. Based on the primary requirements of edge detection of the oil spills" image on the sea, computation time and detection accuracy, we developed a fusion model. The model employed a BP neural net to fuse the detection results of simple operators. The reason we selected BP neural net as the fusion technology is that the relation between simple operators" result of edge gray level and the image"s true edge gray level is nonlinear, while BP neural net is good at solving the nonlinear identification problem. Therefore in this paper we trained a BP neural net by some oil spill images, then applied the BP fusion model on the edge detection of other oil spill images and obtained a good result. In this paper the detection result of some gradient operators and Laplacian operator are also compared with the result of BP fusion model to analysis the fusion effect. At last the paper pointed out that the fusion model has higher accuracy and higher speed in the processing oil spill image"s edge detection.

Dynamically re-configurable CMOS imagers for an active vision system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, Guang (Inventor); Pain, Bedabrata (Inventor)

2005-01-01

A vision system is disclosed. The system includes a pixel array, at least one multi-resolution window operation circuit, and a pixel averaging circuit. The pixel array has an array of pixels configured to receive light signals from an image having at least one tracking target. The multi-resolution window operation circuits are configured to process the image. Each of the multi-resolution window operation circuits processes each tracking target within a particular multi-resolution window. The pixel averaging circuit is configured to sample and average pixels within the particular multi-resolution window.

Introduction to computer image processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moik, J. G.

1973-01-01

Theoretical backgrounds and digital techniques for a class of image processing problems are presented. Image formation in the context of linear system theory, image evaluation, noise characteristics, mathematical operations on image and their implementation are discussed. Various techniques for image restoration and image enhancement are presented. Methods for object extraction and the problem of pictorial pattern recognition and classification are discussed.

Verbalization and imagery in the process of formation of operator labor skills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mistyuk, V. V.

1975-01-01

Sensorimotor control tests show that mastering operational skills occurs under conditions that stimulate the operator to independent active analysis and summarization of current information with the goal of clarifying the signs and the integral images that are a model of the situation. Goal directed determination of such an image requires inner and external speech, activates and improves the thinking of the operator, accelerates the training process, increases its effectiveness, and enables the formation of strategies in anticipating the course of events.

Minimum risk wavelet shrinkage operator for Poisson image denoising.

PubMed

Cheng, Wu; Hirakawa, Keigo

2015-05-01

The pixel values of images taken by an image sensor are said to be corrupted by Poisson noise. To date, multiscale Poisson image denoising techniques have processed Haar frame and wavelet coefficients--the modeling of coefficients is enabled by the Skellam distribution analysis. We extend these results by solving for shrinkage operators for Skellam that minimizes the risk functional in the multiscale Poisson image denoising setting. The minimum risk shrinkage operator of this kind effectively produces denoised wavelet coefficients with minimum attainable L2 error.

Implementing a Parallel Image Edge Detection Algorithm Based on the Otsu-Canny Operator on the Hadoop Platform.

PubMed

Cao, Jianfang; Chen, Lichao; Wang, Min; Tian, Yun

2018-01-01

The Canny operator is widely used to detect edges in images. However, as the size of the image dataset increases, the edge detection performance of the Canny operator decreases and its runtime becomes excessive. To improve the runtime and edge detection performance of the Canny operator, in this paper, we propose a parallel design and implementation for an Otsu-optimized Canny operator using a MapReduce parallel programming model that runs on the Hadoop platform. The Otsu algorithm is used to optimize the Canny operator's dual threshold and improve the edge detection performance, while the MapReduce parallel programming model facilitates parallel processing for the Canny operator to solve the processing speed and communication cost problems that occur when the Canny edge detection algorithm is applied to big data. For the experiments, we constructed datasets of different scales from the Pascal VOC2012 image database. The proposed parallel Otsu-Canny edge detection algorithm performs better than other traditional edge detection algorithms. The parallel approach reduced the running time by approximately 67.2% on a Hadoop cluster architecture consisting of 5 nodes with a dataset of 60,000 images. Overall, our approach system speeds up the system by approximately 3.4 times when processing large-scale datasets, which demonstrates the obvious superiority of our method. The proposed algorithm in this study demonstrates both better edge detection performance and improved time performance.

Using fuzzy fractal features of digital images for the material surface analisys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Privezentsev, D. G.; Zhiznyakov, A. L.; Astafiev, A. V.; Pugin, E. V.

2018-01-01

Edge detection is an important task in image processing. There are a lot of approaches in this area: Sobel, Canny operators and others. One of the perspective techniques in image processing is the use of fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets theory. They allow us to increase processing quality by representing information in its fuzzy form. Most of the existing fuzzy image processing methods switch to fuzzy sets on very late stages, so this leads to some useful information loss. In this paper, a novel method of edge detection based on fuzzy image representation and fuzzy pixels is proposed. With this approach, we convert the image to fuzzy form on the first step. Different approaches to this conversion are described. Several membership functions for fuzzy pixel description and requirements for their form and view are given. A novel approach to edge detection based on Sobel operator and fuzzy image representation is proposed. Experimental testing of developed method was performed on remote sensing images.

New scheme for image edge detection using the switching mechanism of nonlinear optical material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pahari, Nirmalya; Mukhopadhyay, Sourangshu

2006-03-01

The limitations of electronics in conducting parallel arithmetic, algebraic, and logic processing are well known. Very high-speed (terahertz) performance cannot be expected in conventional electronic mechanisms. To achieve such performance we can introduce optics instead of electronics for information processing, computing, and data handling. Nonlinear optical material (NOM) is a successful candidate in this regard to play a major role in the domain of optically controlled switching systems. The character of some NOMs is such as to reflect the probe beam in the presence of two read beams (or pump beams) exciting the material from opposite directions, using the principle of four-wave mixing. In image processing, edge extraction from an image is an important and essential task. Several optical methods of digital image processing are used for properly evaluating the image edges. We propose here a new method of image edge detection, extraction, and enhancement by use of AND-based switching operations with NOM. In this process we have used the optically inverted image of a supplied image. This can be obtained by the EXOR switching operation of the NOM.

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission Operational Land Imager (OLI) Radiometric Calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markham, Brian L.; Dabney, Philip W.; Murphy-Morris, Jeanine E.; Knight, Edward J.; Kvaran, Geir; Barsi, Julia A.

2010-01-01

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) has a comprehensive radiometric characterization and calibration program beginning with the instrument design, and extending through integration and test, on-orbit operations and science data processing. Key instrument design features for radiometric calibration include dual solar diffusers and multi-lamped on-board calibrators. The radiometric calibration transfer procedure from NIST standards has multiple checks on the radiometric scale throughout the process and uses a heliostat as part of the transfer to orbit of the radiometric calibration. On-orbit lunar imaging will be used to track the instruments stability and side slither maneuvers will be used in addition to the solar diffuser to flat field across the thousands of detectors per band. A Calibration Validation Team is continuously involved in the process from design to operations. This team uses an Image Assessment System (IAS), part of the ground system to characterize and calibrate the on-orbit data.

F3D Image Processing and Analysis for Many - and Multi-core Platforms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

F3D is written in OpenCL, so it achieve[sic] platform-portable parallelism on modern mutli-core CPUs and many-core GPUs. The interface and mechanims to access F3D core are written in Java as a plugin for Fiji/ImageJ to deliver several key image-processing algorithms necessary to remove artifacts from micro-tomography data. The algorithms consist of data parallel aware filters that can efficiently utilizes[sic] resources and can work on out of core datasets and scale efficiently across multiple accelerators. Optimizing for data parallel filters, streaming out of core datasets, and efficient resource and memory and data managements over complex execution sequence of filters greatly expeditesmore » any scientific workflow with image processing requirements. F3D performs several different types of 3D image processing operations, such as non-linear filtering using bilateral filtering and/or median filtering and/or morphological operators (MM). F3D gray-level MM operators are one-pass constant time methods that can perform morphological transformations with a line-structuring element oriented in discrete directions. Additionally, MM operators can be applied to gray-scale images, and consist of two parts: (a) a reference shape or structuring element, which is translated over the image, and (b) a mechanism, or operation, that defines the comparisons to be performed between the image and the structuring element. This tool provides a critical component within many complex pipelines such as those for performing automated segmentation of image stacks. F3D is also called a "descendent" of Quant-CT, another software we developed in the past. These two modules are to be integrated in a next version. Further details were reported in: D.M. Ushizima, T. Perciano, H. Krishnan, B. Loring, H. Bale, D. Parkinson, and J. Sethian. Structure recognition from high-resolution images of ceramic composites. IEEE International Conference on Big Data, October 2014.« less

Image processing operations achievable with the Microchannel Spatial Light Modulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warde, C.; Fisher, A. D.; Thackara, J. I.; Weiss, A. M.

1980-01-01

The Microchannel Spatial Light Modulator (MSLM) is a versatile, optically-addressed, highly-sensitive device that is well suited for low-light-level, real-time, optical information processing. It consists of a photocathode, a microchannel plate (MCP), a planar acceleration grid, and an electro-optic plate in proximity focus. A framing rate of 20 Hz with full modulation depth, and 100 Hz with 20% modulation depth has been achieved in a vacuum-demountable LiTaO3 device. A halfwave exposure sensitivity of 2.2 mJ/sq cm and an optical information storage time of more than 2 months have been achieved in a similar gridless LiTaO3 device employing a visible photocathode. Image processing operations such as analog and digital thresholding, real-time image hard clipping, contrast reversal, contrast enhancement, image addition and subtraction, and binary-level logic operations such as AND, OR, XOR, and NOR can be achieved with this device. This collection of achievable image processing characteristics makes the MSLM potentially useful for a number of smart sensor applications.

A discrepancy within primate spatial vision and its bearing on the definition of edge detection processes in machine vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jobson, Daniel J.

1990-01-01

The visual perception of form information is considered to be based on the functioning of simple and complex neurons in the primate striate cortex. However, a review of the physiological data on these brain cells cannot be harmonized with either the perceptual spatial frequency performance of primates or the performance which is necessary for form perception in humans. This discrepancy together with recent interest in cortical-like and perceptual-like processing in image coding and machine vision prompted a series of image processing experiments intended to provide some definition of the selection of image operators. The experiments were aimed at determining operators which could be used to detect edges in a computational manner consistent with the visual perception of structure in images. Fundamental issues were the selection of size (peak spatial frequency) and circular versus oriented operators (or some combination). In a previous study, circular difference-of-Gaussian (DOG) operators, with peak spatial frequency responses at about 11 and 33 cyc/deg were found to capture the primary structural information in images. Here larger scale circular DOG operators were explored and led to severe loss of image structure and introduced spatial dislocations (due to blur) in structure which is not consistent with visual perception. Orientation sensitive operators (akin to one class of simple cortical neurons) introduced ambiguities of edge extent regardless of the scale of the operator. For machine vision schemes which are functionally similar to natural vision form perception, two circularly symmetric very high spatial frequency channels appear to be necessary and sufficient for a wide range of natural images. Such a machine vision scheme is most similar to the physiological performance of the primate lateral geniculate nucleus rather than the striate cortex.

Image Processing Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

To convert raw data into environmental products, the National Weather Service and other organizations use the Global 9000 image processing system marketed by Global Imaging, Inc. The company's GAE software package is an enhanced version of the TAE, developed by Goddard Space Flight Center to support remote sensing and image processing applications. The system can be operated in three modes and is combined with HP Apollo workstation hardware.

Small Interactive Image Processing System (SMIPS) system description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moik, J. G.

1973-01-01

The Small Interactive Image Processing System (SMIPS) operates under control of the IBM-OS/MVT operating system and uses an IBM-2250 model 1 display unit as interactive graphic device. The input language in the form of character strings or attentions from keys and light pen is interpreted and causes processing of built-in image processing functions as well as execution of a variable number of application programs kept on a private disk file. A description of design considerations is given and characteristics, structure and logic flow of SMIPS are summarized. Data management and graphic programming techniques used for the interactive manipulation and display of digital pictures are also discussed.

Enhanced visualization of inner ear structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niemczyk, Kazimierz; Kucharski, Tomasz; Kujawinska, Malgorzata; Bruzgielewicz, Antoni

2004-07-01

Recently surgery requires extensive support from imaging technologies in order to increase effectiveness and safety of operations. One of important tasks is to enhance visualisation of quasi-phase (transparent) 3d structures. Those structures are characterized by very low contrast. It makes differentiation of tissues in field of view very difficult. For that reason the surgeon may be extremly uncertain during operation. This problem is connected with supporting operations of inner ear during which physician has to perform cuts at specific places of quasi-transparent velums. Conventionally during such operations medical doctor views the operating field through stereoscopic microscope. In the paper we propose a 3D visualisation system based on Helmet Mounted Display. Two CCD cameras placed at the output of microscope perform acquisition of stereo pairs of images. The images are processed in real-time with the goal of enhancement of quasi-phased structures. The main task is to create algorithm that is not sensitive to changes in intensity distribution. The disadvantages of existing algorithms is their lack of adaptation to occuring reflexes and shadows in field of view. The processed images from both left and right channels are overlaid on the actual images exported and displayed at LCD's of Helmet Mounted Display. A physician observes by HMD (Helmet Mounted Display) a stereoscopic operating scene with indication of the places of special interest. The authors present the hardware ,procedures applied and initial results of inner ear structure visualisation. Several problems connected with processing of stereo-pair images are discussed.

Multi-Dimensional Signal Processing Research Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-30

applications to real-time image processing and analysis. A specific long-range application is the automated processing of aerial reconnaissance imagery...Non-supervised image segmentation is a potentially im- portant operation in the automated processing of aerial reconnaissance pho- tographs since it

Managing Algorithmic Skeleton Nesting Requirements in Realistic Image Processing Applications: The Case of the SKiPPER-II Parallel Programming Environment's Operating Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coudarcher, Rémi; Duculty, Florent; Serot, Jocelyn; Jurie, Frédéric; Derutin, Jean-Pierre; Dhome, Michel

2005-12-01

SKiPPER is a SKeleton-based Parallel Programming EnviRonment being developed since 1996 and running at LASMEA Laboratory, the Blaise-Pascal University, France. The main goal of the project was to demonstrate the applicability of skeleton-based parallel programming techniques to the fast prototyping of reactive vision applications. This paper deals with the special features embedded in the latest version of the project: algorithmic skeleton nesting capabilities and a fully dynamic operating model. Throughout the case study of a complete and realistic image processing application, in which we have pointed out the requirement for skeleton nesting, we are presenting the operating model of this feature. The work described here is one of the few reported experiments showing the application of skeleton nesting facilities for the parallelisation of a realistic application, especially in the area of image processing. The image processing application we have chosen is a 3D face-tracking algorithm from appearance.

Quantum realization of the bilinear interpolation method for NEQR.

PubMed

Zhou, Ri-Gui; Hu, Wenwen; Fan, Ping; Ian, Hou

2017-05-31

In recent years, quantum image processing is one of the most active fields in quantum computation and quantum information. Image scaling as a kind of image geometric transformation has been widely studied and applied in the classical image processing, however, the quantum version of which does not exist. This paper is concerned with the feasibility of the classical bilinear interpolation based on novel enhanced quantum image representation (NEQR). Firstly, the feasibility of the bilinear interpolation for NEQR is proven. Then the concrete quantum circuits of the bilinear interpolation including scaling up and scaling down for NEQR are given by using the multiply Control-Not operation, special adding one operation, the reverse parallel adder, parallel subtractor, multiplier and division operations. Finally, the complexity analysis of the quantum network circuit based on the basic quantum gates is deduced. Simulation result shows that the scaled-up image using bilinear interpolation is clearer and less distorted than nearest interpolation.

A Real-Time Image Acquisition And Processing System For A RISC-Based Microcomputer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luckman, Adrian J.; Allinson, Nigel M.

1989-03-01

A low cost image acquisition and processing system has been developed for the Acorn Archimedes microcomputer. Using a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) architecture, the ARM (Acorn Risc Machine) processor provides instruction speeds suitable for image processing applications. The associated improvement in data transfer rate has allowed real-time video image acquisition without the need for frame-store memory external to the microcomputer. The system is comprised of real-time video digitising hardware which interfaces directly to the Archimedes memory, and software to provide an integrated image acquisition and processing environment. The hardware can digitise a video signal at up to 640 samples per video line with programmable parameters such as sampling rate and gain. Software support includes a work environment for image capture and processing with pixel, neighbourhood and global operators. A friendly user interface is provided with the help of the Archimedes Operating System WIMP (Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pointer) Manager. Windows provide a convenient way of handling images on the screen and program control is directed mostly by pop-up menus.

Design of a dataway processor for a parallel image signal processing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomura, Mitsuru; Fujii, Tetsuro; Ono, Sadayasu

1995-04-01

Recently, demands for high-speed signal processing have been increasing especially in the field of image data compression, computer graphics, and medical imaging. To achieve sufficient power for real-time image processing, we have been developing parallel signal-processing systems. This paper describes a communication processor called 'dataway processor' designed for a new scalable parallel signal-processing system. The processor has six high-speed communication links (Dataways), a data-packet routing controller, a RISC CORE, and a DMA controller. Each communication link operates at 8-bit parallel in a full duplex mode at 50 MHz. Moreover, data routing, DMA, and CORE operations are processed in parallel. Therefore, sufficient throughput is available for high-speed digital video signals. The processor is designed in a top- down fashion using a CAD system called 'PARTHENON.' The hardware is fabricated using 0.5-micrometers CMOS technology, and its hardware is about 200 K gates.

Effective low-level processing for interferometric image enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Wonjong; Cha, Soyoung S.

1995-09-01

The hybrid operation of digital image processing and a knowledge-based AI system has been recognized as a desirable approach of the automated evaluation of noise-ridden interferogram. Early noise/data reduction before phase is extracted is essential for the success of the knowledge- based processing. In this paper, new concepts of effective, interactive low-level processing operators: that is, a background-matched filter and a directional-smoothing filter, are developed and tested with transonic aerodynamic interferograms. The results indicate that these new operators have promising advantages in noise/data reduction over the conventional ones, leading success of the high-level, intelligent phase extraction.

Spaceborne synthetic aperture radar signal processing using FPGAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugimoto, Yohei; Ozawa, Satoru; Inaba, Noriyasu

2017-10-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery requires image reproduction through successive signal processing of received data before browsing images and extracting information. The received signal data records of the ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 are stored in the onboard mission data storage and transmitted to the ground. In order to compensate the storage usage and the capacity of transmission data through the mission date communication networks, the operation duty of the PALSAR-2 is limited. This balance strongly relies on the network availability. The observation operations of the present spaceborne SAR systems are rigorously planned by simulating the mission data balance, given conflicting user demands. This problem should be solved such that we do not have to compromise the operations and the potential of the next-generation spaceborne SAR systems. One of the solutions is to compress the SAR data through onboard image reproduction and information extraction from the reproduced images. This is also beneficial for fast delivery of information products and event-driven observations by constellation. The Emergence Studio (Sōhatsu kōbō in Japanese) with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is developing evaluation models of FPGA-based signal processing system for onboard SAR image reproduction. The model, namely, "Fast L1 Processor (FLIP)" developed in 2016 can reproduce a 10m-resolution single look complex image (Level 1.1) from ALOS/PALSAR raw signal data (Level 1.0). The processing speed of the FLIP at 200 MHz results in twice faster than CPU-based computing at 3.7 GHz. The image processed by the FLIP is no way inferior to the image processed with 32-bit computing in MATLAB.

Implementing a Parallel Image Edge Detection Algorithm Based on the Otsu-Canny Operator on the Hadoop Platform

PubMed Central

Wang, Min; Tian, Yun

2018-01-01

The Canny operator is widely used to detect edges in images. However, as the size of the image dataset increases, the edge detection performance of the Canny operator decreases and its runtime becomes excessive. To improve the runtime and edge detection performance of the Canny operator, in this paper, we propose a parallel design and implementation for an Otsu-optimized Canny operator using a MapReduce parallel programming model that runs on the Hadoop platform. The Otsu algorithm is used to optimize the Canny operator's dual threshold and improve the edge detection performance, while the MapReduce parallel programming model facilitates parallel processing for the Canny operator to solve the processing speed and communication cost problems that occur when the Canny edge detection algorithm is applied to big data. For the experiments, we constructed datasets of different scales from the Pascal VOC2012 image database. The proposed parallel Otsu-Canny edge detection algorithm performs better than other traditional edge detection algorithms. The parallel approach reduced the running time by approximately 67.2% on a Hadoop cluster architecture consisting of 5 nodes with a dataset of 60,000 images. Overall, our approach system speeds up the system by approximately 3.4 times when processing large-scale datasets, which demonstrates the obvious superiority of our method. The proposed algorithm in this study demonstrates both better edge detection performance and improved time performance. PMID:29861711

Associative architecture for image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adar, Rutie; Akerib, Avidan

1997-09-01

This article presents a new generation in parallel processing architecture for real-time image processing. The approach is implemented in a real time image processor chip, called the XiumTM-2, based on combining a fully associative array which provides the parallel engine with a serial RISC core on the same die. The architecture is fully programmable and can be programmed to implement a wide range of color image processing, computer vision and media processing functions in real time. The associative part of the chip is based on patented pending methodology of Associative Computing Ltd. (ACL), which condenses 2048 associative processors, each of 128 'intelligent' bits. Each bit can be a processing bit or a memory bit. At only 33 MHz and 0.6 micron manufacturing technology process, the chip has a computational power of 3 billion ALU operations per second and 66 billion string search operations per second. The fully programmable nature of the XiumTM-2 chip enables developers to use ACL tools to write their own proprietary algorithms combined with existing image processing and analysis functions from ACL's extended set of libraries.

Digital image modification detection using color information and its histograms.

PubMed

Zhou, Haoyu; Shen, Yue; Zhu, Xinghui; Liu, Bo; Fu, Zigang; Fan, Na

2016-09-01

The rapid development of many open source and commercial image editing software makes the authenticity of the digital images questionable. Copy-move forgery is one of the most widely used tampering techniques to create desirable objects or conceal undesirable objects in a scene. Existing techniques reported in the literature to detect such tampering aim to improve the robustness of these methods against the use of JPEG compression, blurring, noise, or other types of post processing operations. These post processing operations are frequently used with the intention to conceal tampering and reduce tampering clues. A robust method based on the color moments and other five image descriptors is proposed in this paper. The method divides the image into fixed size overlapping blocks. Clustering operation divides entire search space into smaller pieces with similar color distribution. Blocks from the tampered regions will reside within the same cluster since both copied and moved regions have similar color distributions. Five image descriptors are used to extract block features, which makes the method more robust to post processing operations. An ensemble of deep compositional pattern-producing neural networks are trained with these extracted features. Similarity among feature vectors in clusters indicates possible forged regions. Experimental results show that the proposed method can detect copy-move forgery even if an image was distorted by gamma correction, addictive white Gaussian noise, JPEG compression, or blurring. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

High-resolution ophthalmic imaging system

DOEpatents

Olivier, Scot S.; Carrano, Carmen J.

2007-12-04

A system for providing an improved resolution retina image comprising an imaging camera for capturing a retina image and a computer system operatively connected to the imaging camera, the computer producing short exposures of the retina image and providing speckle processing of the short exposures to provide the improved resolution retina image. The system comprises the steps of capturing a retina image, producing short exposures of the retina image, and speckle processing the short exposures of the retina image to provide the improved resolution retina image.

Pre-operative CT angiography and three-dimensional image post processing for deep inferior epigastric perforator flap breast reconstructive surgery.

PubMed

Lam, D L; Mitsumori, L M; Neligan, P C; Warren, B H; Shuman, W P; Dubinsky, T J

2012-12-01

Autologous breast reconstructive surgery with deep inferior epigastric artery (DIEA) perforator flaps has become the mainstay for breast reconstructive surgery. CT angiography and three-dimensional image post processing can depict the number, size, course and location of the DIEA perforating arteries for the pre-operative selection of the best artery to use for the tissue flap. Knowledge of the location and selection of the optimal perforating artery shortens operative times and decreases patient morbidity.

Semi-automated intra-operative fluoroscopy guidance for osteotomy and external-fixator.

PubMed

Lin, Hong; Samchukov, Mikhail L; Birch, John G; Cherkashin, Alexander

2006-01-01

This paper outlines a semi-automated intra-operative fluoroscopy guidance and monitoring approach for osteotomy and external-fixator application in orthopedic surgery. Intra-operative Guidance module is one component of the "LegPerfect Suite" developed for assisting the surgical correction of lower extremity angular deformity. The Intra-operative Guidance module utilizes information from the preoperative surgical planning module as a guideline to overlay (register) its bone outline semi-automatically with the bone edge from the real-time fluoroscopic C-Arm X-Ray image in the operating room. In the registration process, scaling factor is obtained automatically through matching a fiducial template in the fluoroscopic image and a marker in the module. A triangle metal plate, placed on the operating table is used as fiducial template. The area of template image within the viewing area of the fluoroscopy machine is obtained by the image processing techniques such as edge detection and Hough transformation to extract the template from other objects in the fluoroscopy image. The area of fiducial template from fluoroscopic image is then compared with the area of the marker from the planning so as to obtain the scaling factor. After the scaling factor is obtained, the user can use simple operations by mouse to shift and rotate the preoperative planning to overlay the bone outline from planning with the bone edge from fluoroscopy image. In this way osteotomy levels and external fixator positioning on the limb can guided by the computerized preoperative plan.

Semi-automated camera trap image processing for the detection of ungulate fence crossing events.

PubMed

Janzen, Michael; Visser, Kaitlyn; Visscher, Darcy; MacLeod, Ian; Vujnovic, Dragomir; Vujnovic, Ksenija

2017-09-27

Remote cameras are an increasingly important tool for ecological research. While remote camera traps collect field data with minimal human attention, the images they collect require post-processing and characterization before it can be ecologically and statistically analyzed, requiring the input of substantial time and money from researchers. The need for post-processing is due, in part, to a high incidence of non-target images. We developed a stand-alone semi-automated computer program to aid in image processing, categorization, and data reduction by employing background subtraction and histogram rules. Unlike previous work that uses video as input, our program uses still camera trap images. The program was developed for an ungulate fence crossing project and tested against an image dataset which had been previously processed by a human operator. Our program placed images into categories representing the confidence of a particular sequence of images containing a fence crossing event. This resulted in a reduction of 54.8% of images that required further human operator characterization while retaining 72.6% of the known fence crossing events. This program can provide researchers using remote camera data the ability to reduce the time and cost required for image post-processing and characterization. Further, we discuss how this procedure might be generalized to situations not specifically related to animal use of linear features.

MIRIADS: miniature infrared imaging applications development system description and operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baxter, Christopher R.; Massie, Mark A.; McCarley, Paul L.; Couture, Michael E.

2001-10-01

A cooperative effort between the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Nova Research, Inc., the Raytheon Infrared Operations (RIO) and Optics 1, Inc. has successfully produced a miniature infrared camera system that offers significant real-time signal and image processing capabilities by virtue of its modular design. This paper will present an operational overview of the system as well as results from initial testing of the 'Modular Infrared Imaging Applications Development System' (MIRIADS) configured as a missile early-warning detection system. The MIRIADS device can operate virtually any infrared focal plane array (FPA) that currently exists. Programmable on-board logic applies user-defined processing functions to the real-time digital image data for a variety of functions. Daughterboards may be plugged onto the system to expand the digital and analog processing capabilities of the system. A unique full hemispherical infrared fisheye optical system designed and produced by Optics 1, Inc. is utilized by the MIRIADS in a missile warning application to demonstrate the flexibility of the overall system to be applied to a variety of current and future AFRL missions.

Synthesizing parallel imaging applications using the CAP (computer-aided parallelization) tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gennart, Benoit A.; Mazzariol, Marc; Messerli, Vincent; Hersch, Roger D.

1997-12-01

Imaging applications such as filtering, image transforms and compression/decompression require vast amounts of computing power when applied to large data sets. These applications would potentially benefit from the use of parallel processing. However, dedicated parallel computers are expensive and their processing power per node lags behind that of the most recent commodity components. Furthermore, developing parallel applications remains a difficult task: writing and debugging the application is difficult (deadlocks), programs may not be portable from one parallel architecture to the other, and performance often comes short of expectations. In order to facilitate the development of parallel applications, we propose the CAP computer-aided parallelization tool which enables application programmers to specify at a high-level of abstraction the flow of data between pipelined-parallel operations. In addition, the CAP tool supports the programmer in developing parallel imaging and storage operations. CAP enables combining efficiently parallel storage access routines and image processing sequential operations. This paper shows how processing and I/O intensive imaging applications must be implemented to take advantage of parallelism and pipelining between data access and processing. This paper's contribution is (1) to show how such implementations can be compactly specified in CAP, and (2) to demonstrate that CAP specified applications achieve the performance of custom parallel code. The paper analyzes theoretically the performance of CAP specified applications and demonstrates the accuracy of the theoretical analysis through experimental measurements.

Automation of Cassini Support Imaging Uplink Command Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ly-Hollins, Lisa; Breneman, Herbert H.; Brooks, Robert

2010-01-01

"Support imaging" is imagery requested by other Cassini science teams to aid in the interpretation of their data. The generation of the spacecraft command sequences for these images is performed by the Cassini Instrument Operations Team. The process initially established for doing this was very labor-intensive, tedious and prone to human error. Team management recognized this process as one that could easily benefit from automation. Team members were tasked to document the existing manual process, develop a plan and strategy to automate the process, implement the plan and strategy, test and validate the new automated process, and deliver the new software tools and documentation to Flight Operations for use during the Cassini extended mission. In addition to the goals of higher efficiency and lower risk in the processing of support imaging requests, an effort was made to maximize adaptability of the process to accommodate uplink procedure changes and the potential addition of new capabilities outside the scope of the initial effort.

IMAGES: An interactive image processing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, J. R.

1981-01-01

The IMAGES interactive image processing system was created specifically for undergraduate remote sensing education in geography. The system is interactive, relatively inexpensive to operate, almost hardware independent, and responsive to numerous users at one time in a time-sharing mode. Most important, it provides a medium whereby theoretical remote sensing principles discussed in lecture may be reinforced in laboratory as students perform computer-assisted image processing. In addition to its use in academic and short course environments, the system has also been used extensively to conduct basic image processing research. The flow of information through the system is discussed including an overview of the programs.

The edge detection method of the infrared imagery of the laser spot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Che, Jinxi; Zhang, Jinchun; Li, Zhongmin

2016-01-01

In the jamming effectiveness experiments, in which the thermal infrared imager was interfered by the CO2 Laser, in order to evaluate the jamming effect of the thermal infrared imager by the CO2 Laser, it was needed to analyses the obtained infrared imagery of laser spot. Because the laser spot pictures obtained from the thermal infrared imager are irregular, the edge detection is an important process. The image edge is one of the most basic characteristics of the image, and it contains most of the information of the image. Generally, because of the thermal balance effect, the partly temperature of objective is no quite difference; therefore the infrared imagery's ability of reflecting the local detail of object is obvious week. At the same time, when the information of heat distribution of the thermal imagery was combined with the basic information of target, such as the object size, the relative position of field of view, shape and outline, and so on, the information just has more value. Hence, it is an important step for making image processing to extract the objective edge of the infrared imagery. Meanwhile it is an important part of image processing procedure and it is the premise of many subsequent processing. So as to extract outline information of the target from the original thermal imagery, and overcome the disadvantage, such as the low image contrast of the image and serious noise interference, and so on, the edge of thermal imagery needs detecting and processing. The principles of the Roberts, Sobel, Prewitt and Canny operator were analyzed, and then they were used to making edge detection on the thermal imageries of laser spot, which were obtained from the jamming effect experiments of CO2 laser jamming the thermal infrared imager. On the basis of the detection result, their performances were compared. At the end, the characteristics of the operators were summarized, which provide reference for the choice of edge detection operators in thermal imagery processing in future.

Spot restoration for GPR image post-processing

DOEpatents

Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N. Reginald

2014-05-20

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Video Information Communication and Retrieval/Image Based Information System (VICAR/IBIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wherry, D. B.

1981-01-01

The acquisition, operation, and planning stages of installing a VICAR/IBIS system are described. The system operates in an IBM mainframe environment, and provides image processing of raster data. System support problems with software and documentation are discussed.

Tracking moving radar targets with parallel, velocity-tuned filters

DOEpatents

Bickel, Douglas L.; Harmony, David W.; Bielek, Timothy P.; Hollowell, Jeff A.; Murray, Margaret S.; Martinez, Ana

2013-04-30

Radar data associated with radar illumination of a movable target is processed to monitor motion of the target. A plurality of filter operations are performed in parallel on the radar data so that each filter operation produces target image information. The filter operations are defined to have respectively corresponding velocity ranges that differ from one another. The target image information produced by one of the filter operations represents the target more accurately than the target image information produced by the remainder of the filter operations when a current velocity of the target is within the velocity range associated with the one filter operation. In response to the current velocity of the target being within the velocity range associated with the one filter operation, motion of the target is tracked based on the target image information produced by the one filter operation.

Operation and Performance of the Mars Exploration Rover Imaging System on the Martian Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maki, Justin N.; Litwin, Todd; Herkenhoff, Ken

2005-01-01

This slide presentation details the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) imaging system. Over 144,000 images have been gathered from all Mars Missions, with 83.5% of them being gathered by MER. Each Rover has 9 cameras (Navcam, front and rear Hazcam, Pancam, Microscopic Image, Descent Camera, Engineering Camera, Science Camera) and produces 1024 x 1024 (1 Megapixel) images in the same format. All onboard image processing code is implemented in flight software and includes extensive processing capabilities such as autoexposure, flat field correction, image orientation, thumbnail generation, subframing, and image compression. Ground image processing is done at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Multimission Image Processing Laboratory using Video Image Communication and Retrieval (VICAR) while stereo processing (left/right pairs) is provided for raw image, radiometric correction; solar energy maps,triangulation (Cartesian 3-spaces) and slope maps.

In-Situ Mosaic Production at JPL/MIPL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deen, Bob

2012-01-01

Multimission Image Processing Lab (MIPL) at JPL is responsible for (among other things) the ground-based operational image processing of all the recent in-situ Mars missions: (1) Mars Pathfinder (2) Mars Polar Lander (3) Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) (4) Phoenix (5) Mars Science Lab (MSL) Mosaics are probably the most visible products from MIPL (1) Generated for virtually every rover position at which a panorama is taken (2) Provide better environmental context than single images (3) Valuable to operations and science personnel (4) Arguably the signature products for public engagement

Platform-independent software for medical image processing on the Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancuso, Michael E.; Pathak, Sayan D.; Kim, Yongmin

1997-05-01

We have developed a software tool for image processing over the Internet. The tool is a general purpose, easy to use, flexible, platform independent image processing software package with functions most commonly used in medical image processing.It provides for processing of medical images located wither remotely on the Internet or locally. The software was written in Java - the new programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It was compiled and tested using Microsoft's Visual Java 1.0 and Microsoft's Just in Time Compiler 1.00.6211. The software is simple and easy to use. In order to use the tool, the user needs to download the software from our site before he/she runs it using any Java interpreter, such as those supplied by Sun, Symantec, Borland or Microsoft. Future versions of the operating systems supplied by Sun, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, and others will include Java interpreters. The software is then able to access and process any image on the iNternet or on the local computer. Using a 512 X 512 X 8-bit image, a 3 X 3 convolution took 0.88 seconds on an Intel Pentium Pro PC running at 200 MHz with 64 Mbytes of memory. A window/level operation took 0.38 seconds while a 3 X 3 median filter took 0.71 seconds. These performance numbers demonstrate the feasibility of using this software interactively on desktop computes. Our software tool supports various image processing techniques commonly used in medical image processing and can run without the need of any specialized hardware. It can become an easily accessible resource over the Internet to promote the learning and of understanding image processing algorithms. Also, it could facilitate sharing of medical image databases and collaboration amongst researchers and clinicians, regardless of location.

The effects of gray scale image processing on digital mammography interpretation performance.

PubMed

Cole, Elodia B; Pisano, Etta D; Zeng, Donglin; Muller, Keith; Aylward, Stephen R; Park, Sungwook; Kuzmiak, Cherie; Koomen, Marcia; Pavic, Dag; Walsh, Ruth; Baker, Jay; Gimenez, Edgardo I; Freimanis, Rita

2005-05-01

To determine the effects of three image-processing algorithms on diagnostic accuracy of digital mammography in comparison with conventional screen-film mammography. A total of 201 cases consisting of nonprocessed soft copy versions of the digital mammograms acquired from GE, Fischer, and Trex digital mammography systems (1997-1999) and conventional screen-film mammograms of the same patients were interpreted by nine radiologists. The raw digital data were processed with each of three different image-processing algorithms creating three presentations-manufacturer's default (applied and laser printed to film by each of the manufacturers), MUSICA, and PLAHE-were presented in soft copy display. There were three radiologists per presentation. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for GE digital mass cases was worse than screen-film for all digital presentations. The area under the receiver operating characteristic for Trex digital mass cases was better, but only with images processed with the manufacturer's default algorithm. Sensitivity for GE digital mass cases was worse than screen film for all digital presentations. Specificity for Fischer digital calcifications cases was worse than screen film for images processed in default and PLAHE algorithms. Specificity for Trex digital calcifications cases was worse than screen film for images processed with MUSICA. Specific image-processing algorithms may be necessary for optimal presentation for interpretation based on machine and lesion type.

Carotid artery B-mode ultrasound image segmentation based on morphology, geometry and gradient direction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunarya, I. Made Gede; Yuniarno, Eko Mulyanto; Purnomo, Mauridhi Hery; Sardjono, Tri Arief; Sunu, Ismoyo; Purnama, I. Ketut Eddy

2017-06-01

Carotid Artery (CA) is one of the vital organs in the human body. CA features that can be used are position, size and volume. Position feature can used to determine the preliminary initialization of the tracking. Examination of the CA features can use Ultrasound. Ultrasound imaging can be operated dependently by an skilled operator, hence there could be some differences in the images result obtained by two or more different operators. This can affect the process of determining of CA. To reduce the level of subjectivity among operators, it can determine the position of the CA automatically. In this study, the proposed method is to segment CA in B-Mode Ultrasound Image based on morphology, geometry and gradient direction. This study consists of three steps, the data collection, preprocessing and artery segmentation. The data used in this study were taken directly by the researchers and taken from the Brno university's signal processing lab database. Each data set contains 100 carotid artery B-Mode ultrasound image. Artery is modeled using ellipse with center c, major axis a and minor axis b. The proposed method has a high value on each data set, 97% (data set 1), 73 % (data set 2), 87% (data set 3). This segmentation results will then be used in the process of tracking the CA.

Quantum Watermarking Scheme Based on INEQR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ri-Gui; Zhou, Yang; Zhu, Changming; Wei, Lai; Zhang, Xiafen; Ian, Hou

2018-04-01

Quantum watermarking technology protects copyright by embedding invisible quantum signal in quantum multimedia data. In this paper, a watermarking scheme based on INEQR was presented. Firstly, the watermark image is extended to achieve the requirement of embedding carrier image. Secondly, the swap and XOR operation is used on the processed pixels. Since there is only one bit per pixel, XOR operation can achieve the effect of simple encryption. Thirdly, both the watermark image extraction and embedding operations are described, where the key image, swap operation and LSB algorithm are used. When the embedding is made, the binary image key is changed. It means that the watermark has been embedded. Of course, if the watermark image is extracted, the key's state need detected. When key's state is |1>, this extraction operation is carried out. Finally, for validation of the proposed scheme, both the Signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and the security of the scheme are analyzed.

Raster Metafile And Raster Metafile Translator Programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Randall, Donald P.; Gates, Raymond L.; Skeens, Kristi M.

1994-01-01

Raster Metafile (RM) computer program is generic raster-image-format program, and Raster Metafile Translator (RMT) program is assortment of software tools for processing images prepared in this format. Processing includes reading, writing, and displaying RM images. Such other image-manipulation features as minimal compositing operator and resizing option available under RMT command structure. RMT written in FORTRAN 77 and C language.

On detection of median filtering in digital images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirchner, Matthias; Fridrich, Jessica

2010-01-01

In digital image forensics, it is generally accepted that intentional manipulations of the image content are most critical and hence numerous forensic methods focus on the detection of such 'malicious' post-processing. However, it is also beneficial to know as much as possible about the general processing history of an image, including content-preserving operations, since they can affect the reliability of forensic methods in various ways. In this paper, we present a simple yet effective technique to detect median filtering in digital images-a widely used denoising and smoothing operator. As a great variety of forensic methods relies on some kind of a linearity assumption, a detection of non-linear median filtering is of particular interest. The effectiveness of our method is backed with experimental evidence on a large image database.

3CCD image segmentation and edge detection based on MATLAB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yong; Pan, Jiazhi; Zhang, Yun

2006-09-01

This research aimed to identify weeds from crops in early stage in the field operation by using image-processing technology. As 3CCD images offer greater binary value difference between weed and crop section than ordinary digital images taken by common cameras. It has 3 channels (green, red, ifred) which takes a snap-photo of the same area, and the three images can be composed into one image, which facilitates the segmentation of different areas. By the application of image-processing toolkit on MATLAB, the different areas in the image can be segmented clearly. As edge detection technique is the first and very important step in image processing, The different result of different processing method was compared. Especially, by using the wavelet packet transform toolkit on MATLAB, An image was preprocessed and then the edge was extracted, and getting more clearly cut image of edge. The segmentation methods include operations as erosion, dilation and other algorithms to preprocess the images. It is of great importance to segment different areas in digital images in field real time, so as to be applied in precision farming, to saving energy and herbicide and many other materials. At present time Large scale software as MATLAB on PC was used, but the computation can be reduced and integrated into a small embed system, which means that the application of this technique in agricultural engineering is feasible and of great economical value.

Software for MR image overlay guided needle insertions: the clinical translation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ungi, Tamas; U-Thainual, Paweena; Fritz, Jan; Iordachita, Iulian I.; Flammang, Aaron J.; Carrino, John A.; Fichtinger, Gabor

2013-03-01

PURPOSE: Needle guidance software using augmented reality image overlay was translated from the experimental phase to support preclinical and clinical studies. Major functional and structural changes were needed to meet clinical requirements. We present the process applied to fulfill these requirements, and selected features that may be applied in the translational phase of other image-guided surgical navigation systems. METHODS: We used an agile software development process for rapid adaptation to unforeseen clinical requests. The process is based on iterations of operating room test sessions, feedback discussions, and software development sprints. The open-source application framework of 3D Slicer and the NA-MIC kit provided sufficient flexibility and stable software foundations for this work. RESULTS: All requirements were addressed in a process with 19 operating room test iterations. Most features developed in this phase were related to workflow simplification and operator feedback. CONCLUSION: Efficient and affordable modifications were facilitated by an open source application framework and frequent clinical feedback sessions. Results of cadaver experiments show that software requirements were successfully solved after a limited number of operating room tests.

The Pan-STARRS PS1 Image Processing Pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magnier, E.

The Pan-STARRS PS1 Image Processing Pipeline (IPP) performs the image processing and data analysis tasks needed to enable the scientific use of the images obtained by the Pan-STARRS PS1 prototype telescope. The primary goals of the IPP are to process the science images from the Pan-STARRS telescopes and make the results available to other systems within Pan-STARRS. It also is responsible for combining all of the science images in a given filter into a single representation of the non-variable component of the night sky defined as the "Static Sky". To achieve these goals, the IPP also performs other analysis functions to generate the calibrations needed in the science image processing, and to occasionally use the derived data to generate improved astrometric and photometric reference catalogs. It also provides the infrastructure needed to store the incoming data and the resulting data products. The IPP inherits lessons learned, and in some cases code and prototype code, from several other astronomy image analysis systems, including Imcat (Kaiser), the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (REF), the Elixir system (Magnier & Cuillandre), and Vista (Tonry). Imcat and Vista have a large number of robust image processing functions. SDSS has demonstrated a working analysis pipeline and large-scale databasesystem for a dedicated project. The Elixir system has demonstrated an automatic image processing system and an object database system for operational usage. This talk will present an overview of the IPP architecture, functional flow, code development structure, and selected analysis algorithms. Also discussed is the HW highly parallel HW configuration necessary to support PS1 operational requirements. Finally, results are presented of the processing of images collected during PS1 early commissioning tasks utilizing the Pan-STARRS Test Camera #3.

Spatially assisted down-track median filter for GPR image post-processing

DOEpatents

Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N Reginald

2014-10-07

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Digital imaging technology assessment: Digital document storage project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

An ongoing technical assessment and requirements definition project is examining the potential role of digital imaging technology at NASA's STI facility. The focus is on the basic components of imaging technology in today's marketplace as well as the components anticipated in the near future. Presented is a requirement specification for a prototype project, an initial examination of current image processing at the STI facility, and an initial summary of image processing projects at other sites. Operational imaging systems incorporate scanners, optical storage, high resolution monitors, processing nodes, magnetic storage, jukeboxes, specialized boards, optical character recognition gear, pixel addressable printers, communications, and complex software processes.

AOIPS - An interactive image processing system. [Atmospheric and Oceanic Information Processing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bracken, P. A.; Dalton, J. T.; Quann, J. J.; Billingsley, J. B.

1978-01-01

The Atmospheric and Oceanographic Information Processing System (AOIPS) was developed to help applications investigators perform required interactive image data analysis rapidly and to eliminate the inefficiencies and problems associated with batch operation. This paper describes the configuration and processing capabilities of AOIPS and presents unique subsystems for displaying, analyzing, storing, and manipulating digital image data. Applications of AOIPS to research investigations in meteorology and earth resources are featured.

Automated segmentation of three-dimensional MR brain images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jonggeun; Baek, Byungjun; Ahn, Choong-Il; Ku, Kyo Bum; Jeong, Dong Kyun; Lee, Chulhee

2006-03-01

Brain segmentation is a challenging problem due to the complexity of the brain. In this paper, we propose an automated brain segmentation method for 3D magnetic resonance (MR) brain images which are represented as a sequence of 2D brain images. The proposed method consists of three steps: pre-processing, removal of non-brain regions (e.g., the skull, meninges, other organs, etc), and spinal cord restoration. In pre-processing, we perform adaptive thresholding which takes into account variable intensities of MR brain images corresponding to various image acquisition conditions. In segmentation process, we iteratively apply 2D morphological operations and masking for the sequences of 2D sagittal, coronal, and axial planes in order to remove non-brain tissues. Next, final 3D brain regions are obtained by applying OR operation for segmentation results of three planes. Finally we reconstruct the spinal cord truncated during the previous processes. Experiments are performed with fifteen 3D MR brain image sets with 8-bit gray-scale. Experiment results show the proposed algorithm is fast, and provides robust and satisfactory results.

High data volume and transfer rate techniques used at NASA's image processing facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heffner, P.; Connell, E.; Mccaleb, F.

1978-01-01

Data storage and transfer operations at a new image processing facility are described. The equipment includes high density digital magnetic tape drives and specially designed controllers to provide an interface between the tape drives and computerized image processing systems. The controller performs the functions necessary to convert the continuous serial data stream from the tape drive to a word-parallel blocked data stream which then goes to the computer-based system. With regard to the tape packing density, 1.8 times 10 to the tenth data bits are stored on a reel of one-inch tape. System components and their operation are surveyed, and studies on advanced storage techniques are summarized.

Edge detection - Image-plane versus digital processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huck, Friedrich O.; Fales, Carl L.; Park, Stephen K.; Triplett, Judith A.

1987-01-01

To optimize edge detection with the familiar Laplacian-of-Gaussian operator, it has become common to implement this operator with a large digital convolution mask followed by some interpolation of the processed data to determine the zero crossings that locate edges. It is generally recognized that this large mask causes substantial blurring of fine detail. It is shown that the spatial detail can be improved by a factor of about four with either the Wiener-Laplacian-of-Gaussian filter or an image-plane processor. The Wiener-Laplacian-of-Gaussian filter minimizes the image-gathering degradations if the scene statistics are at least approximately known and also serves as an interpolator to determine the desired zero crossings directly. The image-plane processor forms the Laplacian-of-Gaussian response by properly combining the optical design of the image-gathering system with a minimal three-by-three lateral-inhibitory processing mask. This approach, which is suggested by Marr's model of early processing in human vision, also reduces data processing by about two orders of magnitude and data transmission by up to an order of magnitude.

Markov Processes in Image Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrov, E. P.; Kharina, N. L.

2018-05-01

Digital images are used as an information carrier in different sciences and technologies. The aspiration to increase the number of bits in the image pixels for the purpose of obtaining more information is observed. In the paper, some methods of compression and contour detection on the basis of two-dimensional Markov chain are offered. Increasing the number of bits on the image pixels will allow one to allocate fine object details more precisely, but it significantly complicates image processing. The methods of image processing do not concede by the efficiency to well-known analogues, but surpass them in processing speed. An image is separated into binary images, and processing is carried out in parallel with each without an increase in speed, when increasing the number of bits on the image pixels. One more advantage of methods is the low consumption of energy resources. Only logical procedures are used and there are no computing operations. The methods can be useful in processing images of any class and assignment in processing systems with a limited time and energy resources.

Analysis of simulated image sequences from sensors for restricted-visibility operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kasturi, Rangachar

1991-01-01

A real time model of the visible output from a 94 GHz sensor, based on a radiometric simulation of the sensor, was developed. A sequence of images as seen from an aircraft as it approaches for landing was simulated using this model. Thirty frames from this sequence of 200 x 200 pixel images were analyzed to identify and track objects in the image using the Cantata image processing package within the visual programming environment provided by the Khoros software system. The image analysis operations are described.

High-speed image processing system and its micro-optics application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohba, Kohtaro; Ortega, Jesus C. P.; Tanikawa, Tamio; Tanie, Kazuo; Tajima, Kenji; Nagai, Hiroshi; Tsuji, Masataka; Yamada, Shigeru

2003-07-01

In this paper, a new application system with high speed photography, i.e. an observational system for the tele-micro-operation, has been proposed with a dynamic focusing system and a high-speed image processing system using the "Depth From Focus (DFF)" criteria. In micro operation, such as for the microsurgery, DNA operation and etc., the small depth of a focus on the microscope makes bad observation. For example, if the focus is on the object, the actuator cannot be seen with the microscope. On the other hand, if the focus is on the actuator, the object cannot be observed. In this sense, the "all-in-focus image," which holds the in-focused texture all over the image, is useful to observe the microenvironments on the microscope. It is also important to obtain the "depth map" which could show the 3D micro virtual environments in real-time to actuate the micro objects, intuitively. To realize the real-time micro operation with DFF criteria, which has to integrate several images to obtain "all-in-focus image" and "depth map," at least, the 240 frames par second based image capture and processing system should be required. At first, this paper briefly reviews the criteria of "depth from focus" to achieve the all-in-focus image and the 3D microenvironments' reconstruction, simultaneously. After discussing the problem in our past system, a new frame-rate system is constructed with the high-speed video camera and FPGA hardware with 240 frames par second. To apply this system in the real microscope, a new criterion "ghost filtering" technique to reconstruct the all-in-focus image is proposed. Finally, the micro observation shows the validity of this system.

Use of a multimission system for cost effective support of planetary science data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, William B.

1994-01-01

JPL's Multimission Operations Systems Office (MOSO) provides a multimission facility at JPL for processing science instrument data from NASA's planetary missions. This facility, the Multimission Image Processing System (MIPS), is developed and maintained by MOSO to meet requirements that span the NASA family of planetary missions. Although the word 'image' appears in the title, MIPS is used to process instrument data from a variety of science instruments. This paper describes the design of a new system architecture now being implemented within the MIPS to support future planetary mission activities at significantly reduced operations and maintenance cost.

Quantum Image Processing and Its Application to Edge Detection: Theory and Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Xi-Wei; Wang, Hengyan; Liao, Zeyang; Chen, Ming-Cheng; Pan, Jian; Li, Jun; Zhang, Kechao; Lin, Xingcheng; Wang, Zhehui; Luo, Zhihuang; Zheng, Wenqiang; Li, Jianzhong; Zhao, Meisheng; Peng, Xinhua; Suter, Dieter

2017-07-01

Processing of digital images is continuously gaining in volume and relevance, with concomitant demands on data storage, transmission, and processing power. Encoding the image information in quantum-mechanical systems instead of classical ones and replacing classical with quantum information processing may alleviate some of these challenges. By encoding and processing the image information in quantum-mechanical systems, we here demonstrate the framework of quantum image processing, where a pure quantum state encodes the image information: we encode the pixel values in the probability amplitudes and the pixel positions in the computational basis states. Our quantum image representation reduces the required number of qubits compared to existing implementations, and we present image processing algorithms that provide exponential speed-up over their classical counterparts. For the commonly used task of detecting the edge of an image, we propose and implement a quantum algorithm that completes the task with only one single-qubit operation, independent of the size of the image. This demonstrates the potential of quantum image processing for highly efficient image and video processing in the big data era.

A new visual feedback-based magnetorheological haptic master for robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Seung-Hyun; Kim, Soomin; Kim, Pyunghwa; Park, Jinhyuk; Choi, Seung-Bok

2015-06-01

In this study, we developed a novel four-degrees-of-freedom haptic master using controllable magnetorheological (MR) fluid. We also integrated the haptic master with a vision device with image processing for robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS). The proposed master can be used in RMIS as a haptic interface to provide the surgeon with a sense of touch by using both kinetic and kinesthetic information. The slave robot, which is manipulated with a proportional-integrative-derivative controller, uses a force sensor to obtain the desired forces from tissue contact, and these desired repulsive forces are then embodied through the MR haptic master. To verify the effectiveness of the haptic master, the desired force and actual force are compared in the time domain. In addition, a visual feedback system is implemented in the RMIS experiment to distinguish between the tumor and organ more clearly and provide better visibility to the operator. The hue-saturation-value color space is adopted for the image processing since it is often more intuitive than other color spaces. The image processing and haptic feedback are realized on surgery performance. In this work, tumor-cutting experiments are conducted under four different operating conditions: haptic feedback on, haptic feedback off, image processing on, and image processing off. The experimental realization shows that the performance index, which is a function of pixels, is different in the four operating conditions.

Buried object detection in GPR images

DOEpatents

Paglieroni, David W; Chambers, David H; Bond, Steven W; Beer, W. Reginald

2014-04-29

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Uranus: a rapid prototyping tool for FPGA embedded computer vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosales-Hernández, Victor; Castillo-Jimenez, Liz; Viveros-Velez, Gilberto; Zuñiga-Grajeda, Virgilio; Treviño Torres, Abel; Arias-Estrada, M.

2007-01-01

The starting point for all successful system development is the simulation. Performing high level simulation of a system can help to identify, insolate and fix design problems. This work presents Uranus, a software tool for simulation and evaluation of image processing algorithms with support to migrate them to an FPGA environment for algorithm acceleration and embedded processes purposes. The tool includes an integrated library of previous coded operators in software and provides the necessary support to read and display image sequences as well as video files. The user can use the previous compiled soft-operators in a high level process chain, and code his own operators. Additional to the prototyping tool, Uranus offers FPGA-based hardware architecture with the same organization as the software prototyping part. The hardware architecture contains a library of FPGA IP cores for image processing that are connected with a PowerPC based system. The Uranus environment is intended for rapid prototyping of machine vision and the migration to FPGA accelerator platform, and it is distributed for academic purposes.

Image processing methods in two and three dimensions used to animate remotely sensed data. [cloud cover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hussey, K. J.; Hall, J. R.; Mortensen, R. A.

1986-01-01

Image processing methods and software used to animate nonimaging remotely sensed data on cloud cover are described. Three FORTRAN programs were written in the VICAR2/TAE image processing domain to perform 3D perspective rendering, to interactively select parameters controlling the projection, and to interpolate parameter sets for animation images between key frames. Operation of the 3D programs and transferring the images to film is automated using executive control language and custom hardware to link the computer and camera.

Radar signal pre-processing to suppress surface bounce and multipath

DOEpatents

Paglieroni, David W; Mast, Jeffrey E; Beer, N. Reginald

2013-12-31

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes that return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Use of focus measure operators for characterization of flood illumination adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy image quality

PubMed Central

Alonso-Caneiro, David; Sampson, Danuta M.; Chew, Avenell L.; Collins, Michael J.; Chen, Fred K.

2018-01-01

Adaptive optics flood illumination ophthalmoscopy (AO-FIO) allows imaging of the cone photoreceptor in the living human retina. However, clinical interpretation of the AO-FIO image remains challenging due to suboptimal quality arising from residual uncorrected wavefront aberrations and rapid eye motion. An objective method of assessing image quality is necessary to determine whether an AO-FIO image is suitable for grading and diagnostic purpose. In this work, we explore the use of focus measure operators as a surrogate measure of AO-FIO image quality. A set of operators are tested on data sets acquired at different focal depths and different retinal locations from healthy volunteers. Our results demonstrate differences in focus measure operator performance in quantifying AO-FIO image quality. Further, we discuss the potential application of the selected focus operators in (i) selection of the best quality AO-FIO image from a series of images collected at the same retinal location and (ii) assessment of longitudinal changes in the diseased retina. Focus function could be incorporated into real-time AO-FIO image processing and provide an initial automated quality assessment during image acquisition or reading center grading. PMID:29552404

Use of focus measure operators for characterization of flood illumination adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy image quality.

PubMed

Alonso-Caneiro, David; Sampson, Danuta M; Chew, Avenell L; Collins, Michael J; Chen, Fred K

2018-02-01

Adaptive optics flood illumination ophthalmoscopy (AO-FIO) allows imaging of the cone photoreceptor in the living human retina. However, clinical interpretation of the AO-FIO image remains challenging due to suboptimal quality arising from residual uncorrected wavefront aberrations and rapid eye motion. An objective method of assessing image quality is necessary to determine whether an AO-FIO image is suitable for grading and diagnostic purpose. In this work, we explore the use of focus measure operators as a surrogate measure of AO-FIO image quality. A set of operators are tested on data sets acquired at different focal depths and different retinal locations from healthy volunteers. Our results demonstrate differences in focus measure operator performance in quantifying AO-FIO image quality. Further, we discuss the potential application of the selected focus operators in (i) selection of the best quality AO-FIO image from a series of images collected at the same retinal location and (ii) assessment of longitudinal changes in the diseased retina. Focus function could be incorporated into real-time AO-FIO image processing and provide an initial automated quality assessment during image acquisition or reading center grading.

Wood industrial application for quality control using image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, M. J. O.; Neves, J. A. C.

1994-11-01

This paper describes an application of image processing for the furniture industry. It uses an input data, images acquired directly from wood planks where defects were previously marked by an operator. A set of image processing algorithms separates and codes each defect and detects a polygonal approach of the line representing them. For such a purpose we developed a pattern classification algorithm and a new technique of segmenting defects by carving the convex hull of the binary shape representing each isolated defect.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beckner, F. L.; Ahr, H. A.; Ausherman, D. A.; Cutrona, L. J.; Francisco, S.; Harrison, R. E.; Heuser, J. S.; Jordan, R. L.; Justus, J.; Manning, B.

1978-01-01

The available and optimal methods for generating SAR imagery for NASA applications were identified. The SAR image quality and data processing requirements associated with these applications were studied. Mathematical operations and algorithms required to process sensor data into SAR imagery were defined. The architecture of SAR image formation processors was discussed, and technology necessary to implement the SAR data processors used in both general purpose and dedicated imaging systems was addressed.

Real-time thermal imaging of solid oxide fuel cell cathode activity in working condition.

PubMed

Montanini, Roberto; Quattrocchi, Antonino; Piccolo, Sebastiano A; Amato, Alessandra; Trocino, Stefano; Zignani, Sabrina C; Faro, Massimiliano Lo; Squadrito, Gaetano

2016-09-01

Electrochemical methods such as voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are effective for quantifying solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operational performance, but not for identifying and monitoring the chemical processes that occur on the electrodes' surface, which are thought to be strictly related to the SOFCs' efficiency. Because of their high operating temperature, mechanical failure or cathode delamination is a common shortcoming of SOFCs that severely affects their reliability. Infrared thermography may provide a powerful tool for probing in situ SOFC electrode processes and the materials' structural integrity, but, due to the typical design of pellet-type cells, a complete optical access to the electrode surface is usually prevented. In this paper, a specially designed SOFC is introduced, which allows temperature distribution to be measured over all the cathode area while still preserving the electrochemical performance of the device. Infrared images recorded under different working conditions are then processed by means of a dedicated image processing algorithm for quantitative data analysis. Results reported in the paper highlight the effectiveness of infrared thermal imaging in detecting the onset of cell failure during normal operation and in monitoring cathode activity when the cell is fed with different types of fuels.

Evaluation of clinical image processing algorithms used in digital mammography.

PubMed

Zanca, Federica; Jacobs, Jurgen; Van Ongeval, Chantal; Claus, Filip; Celis, Valerie; Geniets, Catherine; Provost, Veerle; Pauwels, Herman; Marchal, Guy; Bosmans, Hilde

2009-03-01

Screening is the only proven approach to reduce the mortality of breast cancer, but significant numbers of breast cancers remain undetected even when all quality assurance guidelines are implemented. With the increasing adoption of digital mammography systems, image processing may be a key factor in the imaging chain. Although to our knowledge statistically significant effects of manufacturer-recommended image processings have not been previously demonstrated, the subjective experience of our radiologists, that the apparent image quality can vary considerably between different algorithms, motivated this study. This article addresses the impact of five such algorithms on the detection of clusters of microcalcifications. A database of unprocessed (raw) images of 200 normal digital mammograms, acquired with the Siemens Novation DR, was collected retrospectively. Realistic simulated microcalcification clusters were inserted in half of the unprocessed images. All unprocessed images were subsequently processed with five manufacturer-recommended image processing algorithms (Agfa Musica 1, IMS Raffaello Mammo 1.2, Sectra Mamea AB Sigmoid, Siemens OPVIEW v2, and Siemens OPVIEW v1). Four breast imaging radiologists were asked to locate and score the clusters in each image on a five point rating scale. The free-response data were analyzed by the jackknife free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC) method and, for comparison, also with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) method. JAFROC analysis revealed highly significant differences between the image processings (F = 8.51, p < 0.0001), suggesting that image processing strongly impacts the detectability of clusters. Siemens OPVIEW2 and Siemens OPVIEW1 yielded the highest and lowest performances, respectively. ROC analysis of the data also revealed significant differences between the processing but at lower significance (F = 3.47, p = 0.0305) than JAFROC. Both statistical analysis methods revealed that the same six pairs of modalities were significantly different, but the JAFROC confidence intervals were about 32% smaller than ROC confidence intervals. This study shows that image processing has a significant impact on the detection of microcalcifications in digital mammograms. Objective measurements, such as described here, should be used by the manufacturers to select the optimal image processing algorithm.

Near-infrared spectroscopic tissue imaging for medical applications

DOEpatents

Demos,; Stavros, Staggs [Livermore, CA; Michael, C [Tracy, CA

2006-03-21

Near infrared imaging using elastic light scattering and tissue autofluorescence are explored for medical applications. The approach involves imaging using cross-polarized elastic light scattering and tissue autofluorescence in the Near Infra-Red (NIR) coupled with image processing and inter-image operations to differentiate human tissue components.

Near-infrared spectroscopic tissue imaging for medical applications

DOEpatents

Demos, Stavros [Livermore, CA; Staggs, Michael C [Tracy, CA

2006-12-12

Near infrared imaging using elastic light scattering and tissue autofluorescence are explored for medical applications. The approach involves imaging using cross-polarized elastic light scattering and tissue autofluorescence in the Near Infra-Red (NIR) coupled with image processing and inter-image operations to differentiate human tissue components.

A New Test Method of Circuit Breaker Spring Telescopic Characteristics Based Image Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Huimin; Wang, Feifeng; Lu, Yufeng; Xia, Xiaofei; Su, Yi

2018-06-01

This paper applied computer vision technology to the fatigue condition monitoring of springs, and a new telescopic characteristics test method is proposed for circuit breaker operating mechanism spring based on image processing technology. High-speed camera is utilized to capture spring movement image sequences when high voltage circuit breaker operated. Then the image-matching method is used to obtain the deformation-time curve and speed-time curve, and the spring expansion and deformation parameters are extracted from it, which will lay a foundation for subsequent spring force analysis and matching state evaluation. After performing simulation tests at the experimental site, this image analyzing method could solve the complex problems of traditional mechanical sensor installation and monitoring online, status assessment of the circuit breaker spring.

Designing Image Analysis Pipelines in Light Microscopy: A Rational Approach.

PubMed

Arganda-Carreras, Ignacio; Andrey, Philippe

2017-01-01

With the progress of microscopy techniques and the rapidly growing amounts of acquired imaging data, there is an increased need for automated image processing and analysis solutions in biological studies. Each new application requires the design of a specific image analysis pipeline, by assembling a series of image processing operations. Many commercial or free bioimage analysis software are now available and several textbooks and reviews have presented the mathematical and computational fundamentals of image processing and analysis. Tens, if not hundreds, of algorithms and methods have been developed and integrated into image analysis software, resulting in a combinatorial explosion of possible image processing sequences. This paper presents a general guideline methodology to rationally address the design of image processing and analysis pipelines. The originality of the proposed approach is to follow an iterative, backwards procedure from the target objectives of analysis. The proposed goal-oriented strategy should help biologists to better apprehend image analysis in the context of their research and should allow them to efficiently interact with image processing specialists.

Median Filter Noise Reduction of Image and Backpropagation Neural Network Model for Cervical Cancer Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wutsqa, D. U.; Marwah, M.

2017-06-01

In this paper, we consider spatial operation median filter to reduce the noise in the cervical images yielded by colposcopy tool. The backpropagation neural network (BPNN) model is applied to the colposcopy images to classify cervical cancer. The classification process requires an image extraction by using a gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) method to obtain image features that are used as inputs of BPNN model. The advantage of noise reduction is evaluated by comparing the performances of BPNN models with and without spatial operation median filter. The experimental result shows that the spatial operation median filter can improve the accuracy of the BPNN model for cervical cancer classification.

Embedded image processing engine using ARM cortex-M4 based STM32F407 microcontroller

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samaiya, Devesh, E-mail: samaiya.devesh@gmail.com

2014-10-06

Due to advancement in low cost, easily available, yet powerful hardware and revolution in open source software, urge to make newer, more interactive machines and electronic systems have increased manifold among engineers. To make system more interactive, designers need easy to use sensor systems. Giving the boon of vision to machines was never easy, though it is not impossible these days; it is still not easy and expensive. This work presents a low cost, moderate performance and programmable Image processing engine. This Image processing engine is able to capture real time images, can store the images in the permanent storagemore » and can perform preprogrammed image processing operations on the captured images.« less

Automated imaging system for single molecules

DOEpatents

Schwartz, David Charles; Runnheim, Rodney; Forrest, Daniel

2012-09-18

There is provided a high throughput automated single molecule image collection and processing system that requires minimal initial user input. The unique features embodied in the present disclosure allow automated collection and initial processing of optical images of single molecules and their assemblies. Correct focus may be automatically maintained while images are collected. Uneven illumination in fluorescence microscopy is accounted for, and an overall robust imaging operation is provided yielding individual images prepared for further processing in external systems. Embodiments described herein are useful in studies of any macromolecules such as DNA, RNA, peptides and proteins. The automated image collection and processing system and method of same may be implemented and deployed over a computer network, and may be ergonomically optimized to facilitate user interaction.

Balancing Science Objectives and Operational Constraints: A Mission Planner's Challenge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weldy, Michelle

1996-01-01

The Air Force minute sensor technology integration (MSTI-3) satellite's primary mission is to characterize Earth's atmospheric background clutter. MSTI-3 will use three cameras for data collection, a mid-wave infrared imager, a short wave infrared imager, and a visible imaging spectrometer. Mission science objectives call for the collection of over 2 million images within the one year mission life. In addition, operational constraints limit camera usage to four operations of twenty minutes per day, with no more than 10,000 data and calibrating images collected per day. To balance the operational constraints and science objectives, the mission planning team has designed a planning process to e event schedules and sensor operation timelines. Each set of constraints, including spacecraft performance capabilities, the camera filters, the geographical regions, and the spacecraft-Sun-Earth geometries of interest, and remote tracking station deconflictions has been accounted for in this methodology. To aid in this process, the mission planning team is building a series of tools from commercial off-the-shelf software. These include the mission manifest which builds a daily schedule of events, and the MSTI Scene Simulator which helps build geometrically correct scans. These tools provide an efficient, responsive, and highly flexible architecture that maximizes data collection while minimizing mission planning time.

Automated Long-Term Monitoring of Parallel Microfluidic Operations Applying a Machine Vision-Assisted Positioning Method

PubMed Central

Yip, Hon Ming; Li, John C. S.; Cui, Xin; Gao, Qiannan; Leung, Chi Chiu

2014-01-01

As microfluidics has been applied extensively in many cell and biochemical applications, monitoring the related processes is an important requirement. In this work, we design and fabricate a high-throughput microfluidic device which contains 32 microchambers to perform automated parallel microfluidic operations and monitoring on an automated stage of a microscope. Images are captured at multiple spots on the device during the operations for monitoring samples in microchambers in parallel; yet the device positions may vary at different time points throughout operations as the device moves back and forth on a motorized microscopic stage. Here, we report an image-based positioning strategy to realign the chamber position before every recording of microscopic image. We fabricate alignment marks at defined locations next to the chambers in the microfluidic device as reference positions. We also develop image processing algorithms to recognize the chamber positions in real-time, followed by realigning the chambers to their preset positions in the captured images. We perform experiments to validate and characterize the device functionality and the automated realignment operation. Together, this microfluidic realignment strategy can be a platform technology to achieve precise positioning of multiple chambers for general microfluidic applications requiring long-term parallel monitoring of cell and biochemical activities. PMID:25133248

Automated characterisation of ultrasound images of ovarian tumours: the diagnostic accuracy of a support vector machine and image processing with a local binary pattern operator.

PubMed

Khazendar, S; Sayasneh, A; Al-Assam, H; Du, H; Kaijser, J; Ferrara, L; Timmerman, D; Jassim, S; Bourne, T

2015-01-01

Preoperative characterisation of ovarian masses into benign or malignant is of paramount importance to optimise patient management. In this study, we developed and validated a computerised model to characterise ovarian masses as benign or malignant. Transvaginal 2D B mode static ultrasound images of 187 ovarian masses with known histological diagnosis were included. Images were first pre-processed and enhanced, and Local Binary Pattern Histograms were then extracted from 2 × 2 blocks of each image. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) was trained using stratified cross validation with randomised sampling. The process was repeated 15 times and in each round 100 images were randomly selected. The SVM classified the original non-treated static images as benign or malignant masses with an average accuracy of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.59-0.65). This performance significantly improved to an average accuracy of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.75-0.79) when images were pre-processed, enhanced and treated with a Local Binary Pattern operator (mean difference 0.15: 95% 0.11-0.19, p < 0.0001, two-tailed t test). We have shown that an SVM can classify static 2D B mode ultrasound images of ovarian masses into benign and malignant categories. The accuracy improves if texture related LBP features extracted from the images are considered.

Union operation image processing of data cubes separately processed by different objective filters and its application to void analysis in an all-solid-state lithium-ion battery.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Yuta; Iriyama, Yasutoshi; Muto, Shunsuke

2016-04-01

In this article, we propose a smart image-analysis method suitable for extracting target features with hierarchical dimension from original data. The method was applied to three-dimensional volume data of an all-solid lithium-ion battery obtained by the automated sequential sample milling and imaging process using a focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope to investigate the spatial configuration of voids inside the battery. To automatically fully extract the shape and location of the voids, three types of filters were consecutively applied: a median blur filter to extract relatively larger voids, a morphological opening operation filter for small dot-shaped voids and a morphological closing operation filter for small voids with concave contrasts. Three data cubes separately processed by the above-mentioned filters were integrated by a union operation to the final unified volume data, which confirmed the correct extraction of the voids over the entire dimension contained in the original data. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Society of Microscopy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Spatially adaptive migration tomography for multistatic GPR imaging

DOEpatents

Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N. Reginald

2013-08-13

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Synthetic aperture integration (SAI) algorithm for SAR imaging

DOEpatents

Chambers, David H; Mast, Jeffrey E; Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N. Reginald

2013-07-09

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Zero source insertion technique to account for undersampling in GPR imaging

DOEpatents

Chambers, David H; Mast, Jeffrey E; Paglieroni, David W

2014-02-25

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Real-time system for imaging and object detection with a multistatic GPR array

DOEpatents

Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N Reginald; Bond, Steven W; Top, Philip L; Chambers, David H; Mast, Jeffrey E; Donetti, John G; Mason, Blake C; Jones, Steven M

2014-10-07

A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

Architecture and data processing alternatives for the tse computer. Volume 4: Image rotation using tse operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kao, M. H.; Bodenheimer, R. E.

1976-01-01

The tse computer's capability of achieving image congruence between temporal and multiple images with misregistration due to rotational differences is reported. The coordinate transformations are obtained and a general algorithms is devised to perform image rotation using tse operations very efficiently. The details of this algorithm as well as its theoretical implications are presented. Step by step procedures of image registration are described in detail. Numerous examples are also employed to demonstrate the correctness and the effectiveness of the algorithms and conclusions and recommendations are made.

OR2020: The Operating Room of the Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-05-01

25 3.3 Technical Requirements: Standards and Tools for Improved Operating R oom Process Integration...Image processing and visualization tools must be made available to the operating room. 5. Communications issues must be addressed and aim toward...protocols for effectively performing advanced surgeries and using telecommunications-ready tools as needed. The following recommendations were made

New Processing of Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, F. J.; Gracheva, V.; Arko, S. A.; Labelle-Hamer, A. L.

2017-12-01

The Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) was a radar system, which successfully operated on two separate shuttle missions in April and October 1994. During these two missions, a total of 143 hours of radar data were recorded. SIR-C was the first multifrequency and polarimetric spaceborne radar system, operating in dual frequency (L- and C- band) and with quad-polarization. SIR-C had a variety of different operating modes, which are innovative even from today's point of view. Depending on the mode, it was possible to acquire data with different polarizations and carrier frequency combinations. Additionally, different swaths and bandwidths could be used during the data collection and it was possible to receive data with two antennas in the along-track direction.The United States Geological Survey (USGS) distributes the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images as single-look complex (SLC) and multi-look complex (MLC) products. Unfortunately, since June 2005 the SIR-C processor has been inoperable and not repairable. All acquired SLC and MLC images were processed with a course resolution of 100 m with the goal of generating a quick look. These images are however not well suited for scientific analysis. Only a small percentage of the acquired data has been processed as full resolution SAR images and the unprocessed high resolution data cannot be processed any more at the moment.At the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) a new processor was developed to process binary SIR-C data to full resolution SAR images. ASF is planning to process the entire recoverable SIR-C archive to full resolution SLCs, MLCs and high resolution geocoded image products. ASF will make these products available to the science community through their existing data archiving and distribution system.The final paper will describe the new processor and analyze the challenges of reprocessing the SIR-C data.

Prototype Focal-Plane-Array Optoelectronic Image Processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fang, Wai-Chi; Shaw, Timothy; Yu, Jeffrey

1995-01-01

Prototype very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) planar array of optoelectronic processing elements combines speed of optical input and output with flexibility of reconfiguration (programmability) of electronic processing medium. Basic concept of processor described in "Optical-Input, Optical-Output Morphological Processor" (NPO-18174). Performs binary operations on binary (black and white) images. Each processing element corresponds to one picture element of image and located at that picture element. Includes input-plane photodetector in form of parasitic phototransistor part of processing circuit. Output of each processing circuit used to modulate one picture element in output-plane liquid-crystal display device. Intended to implement morphological processing algorithms that transform image into set of features suitable for high-level processing; e.g., recognition.

[Digital processing and evaluation of ultrasound images].

PubMed

Borchers, J; Klews, P M

1993-10-01

With the help of workstations and PCs, on-site image processing has become possible. If the images are not available in digital form the video signal has to be A/D converted. In the case of colour images the colour channels R (red), G (green) and B (blue) have to be digitized separately. "Truecolour" imaging calls for an 8 bit resolution per channel, leading to 24 bits per pixel. Out of a pool of 2(24) possible values only the relevant 128 gray values and 64 shades of red and blue respectively needed for a colour-coded ultrasound image have to be isolated. Digital images can be changed and evaluated with the help of readily available image evaluation programmes. It is mandatory that during image manipulation the gray scale and colour pixels and LUTs (Look-Up-Table) must be worked on separately. Using relatively simple LUT manipulations astonishing image improvements are possible. Application of simple mathematical operations can lead to completely new clinical results. For example, by subtracting two consecutive colour flow images in time and special LUT operations, local acceleration of blood flow can be visualized (Colour Acceleration Imaging).

Man-machine interactive imaging and data processing using high-speed digital mass storage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alsberg, H.; Nathan, R.

1975-01-01

The role of vision in teleoperation has been recognized as an important element in the man-machine control loop. In most applications of remote manipulation, direct vision cannot be used. To overcome this handicap, the human operator's control capabilities are augmented by a television system. This medium provides a practical and useful link between workspace and the control station from which the operator perform his tasks. Human performance deteriorates when the images are degraded as a result of instrumental and transmission limitations. Image enhancement is used to bring out selected qualities in a picture to increase the perception of the observer. A general purpose digital computer, an extensive special purpose software system is used to perform an almost unlimited repertoire of processing operations.

Image registration assessment in radiotherapy image guidance based on control chart monitoring.

PubMed

Xia, Wenyao; Breen, Stephen L

2018-04-01

Image guidance with cone beam computed tomography in radiotherapy can guarantee the precision and accuracy of patient positioning prior to treatment delivery. During the image guidance process, operators need to take great effort to evaluate the image guidance quality before correcting a patient's position. This work proposes an image registration assessment method based on control chart monitoring to reduce the effort taken by the operator. According to the control chart plotted by daily registration scores of each patient, the proposed method can quickly detect both alignment errors and image quality inconsistency. Therefore, the proposed method can provide a clear guideline for the operators to identify unacceptable image quality and unacceptable image registration with minimal effort. Experimental results demonstrate that by using control charts from a clinical database of 10 patients undergoing prostate radiotherapy, the proposed method can quickly identify out-of-control signals and find special cause of out-of-control registration events.

WFIRST Science Operations at STScI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilbert, Karoline; STScI WFIRST Team

2018-06-01

With sensitivity and resolution comparable the Hubble Space Telescope, and a field of view 100 times larger, the Wide Field Instrument (WFI) on WFIRST will be a powerful survey instrument. STScI will be the Science Operations Center (SOC) for the WFIRST Mission, with additional science support provided by the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) and foreign partners. STScI will schedule and archive all WFIRST observations, calibrate and produce pipeline-reduced data products for imaging with the Wide Field Instrument, support the High Latitude Imaging and Supernova Survey Teams, and support the astronomical community in planning WFI imaging observations and analyzing the data. STScI has developed detailed concepts for WFIRST operations, including a data management system integrating data processing and the archive which will include a novel, cloud-based framework for high-level data processing, providing a common environment accessible to all users (STScI operations, Survey Teams, General Observers, and archival investigators). To aid the astronomical community in examining the capabilities of WFIRST, STScI has built several simulation tools. We describe the functionality of each tool and give examples of its use.

Telerobotic Surgery: An Intelligent Systems Approach to Mitigate the Adverse Effects of Communication Delay. Chapter 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cardullo, Frank M.; Lewis, Harold W., III; Panfilov, Peter B.

2007-01-01

An extremely innovative approach has been presented, which is to have the surgeon operate through a simulator running in real-time enhanced with an intelligent controller component to enhance the safety and efficiency of a remotely conducted operation. The use of a simulator enables the surgeon to operate in a virtual environment free from the impediments of telecommunication delay. The simulator functions as a predictor and periodically the simulator state is corrected with truth data. Three major research areas must be explored in order to ensure achieving the objectives. They are: simulator as predictor, image processing, and intelligent control. Each is equally necessary for success of the project and each of these involves a significant intelligent component in it. These are diverse, interdisciplinary areas of investigation, thereby requiring a highly coordinated effort by all the members of our team, to ensure an integrated system. The following is a brief discussion of those areas. Simulator as a predictor: The delays encountered in remote robotic surgery will be greater than any encountered in human-machine systems analysis, with the possible exception of remote operations in space. Therefore, novel compensation techniques will be developed. Included will be the development of the real-time simulator, which is at the heart of our approach. The simulator will present real-time, stereoscopic images and artificial haptic stimuli to the surgeon. Image processing: Because of the delay and the possibility of insufficient bandwidth a high level of novel image processing is necessary. This image processing will include several innovative aspects, including image interpretation, video to graphical conversion, texture extraction, geometric processing, image compression and image generation at the surgeon station. Intelligent control: Since the approach we propose is in a sense predictor based, albeit a very sophisticated predictor, a controller, which not only optimizes end effector trajectory but also avoids error, is essential. We propose to investigate two different approaches to the controller design. One approach employs an optimal controller based on modern control theory; the other one involves soft computing techniques, i.e. fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms and hybrids of these.

A New Color Image Encryption Scheme Using CML and a Fractional-Order Chaotic System

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiangjun; Li, Yang; Kurths, Jürgen

2015-01-01

The chaos-based image cryptosystems have been widely investigated in recent years to provide real-time encryption and transmission. In this paper, a novel color image encryption algorithm by using coupled-map lattices (CML) and a fractional-order chaotic system is proposed to enhance the security and robustness of the encryption algorithms with a permutation-diffusion structure. To make the encryption procedure more confusing and complex, an image division-shuffling process is put forward, where the plain-image is first divided into four sub-images, and then the position of the pixels in the whole image is shuffled. In order to generate initial conditions and parameters of two chaotic systems, a 280-bit long external secret key is employed. The key space analysis, various statistical analysis, information entropy analysis, differential analysis and key sensitivity analysis are introduced to test the security of the new image encryption algorithm. The cryptosystem speed is analyzed and tested as well. Experimental results confirm that, in comparison to other image encryption schemes, the new algorithm has higher security and is fast for practical image encryption. Moreover, an extensive tolerance analysis of some common image processing operations such as noise adding, cropping, JPEG compression, rotation, brightening and darkening, has been performed on the proposed image encryption technique. Corresponding results reveal that the proposed image encryption method has good robustness against some image processing operations and geometric attacks. PMID:25826602

Automatic detection of the inner ears in head CT images using deep convolutional neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Dongqing; Noble, Jack H.; Dawant, Benoit M.

2018-03-01

Cochlear implants (CIs) use electrode arrays that are surgically inserted into the cochlea to stimulate nerve endings to replace the natural electro-mechanical transduction mechanism and restore hearing for patients with profound hearing loss. Post-operatively, the CI needs to be programmed. Traditionally, this is done by an audiologist who is blind to the positions of the electrodes relative to the cochlea and relies on the patient's subjective response to stimuli. This is a trial-and-error process that can be frustratingly long (dozens of programming sessions are not unusual). To assist audiologists, we have proposed what we call IGCIP for image-guided cochlear implant programming. In IGCIP, we use image processing algorithms to segment the intra-cochlear anatomy in pre-operative CT images and to localize the electrode arrays in post-operative CTs. We have shown that programming strategies informed by image-derived information significantly improve hearing outcomes for both adults and pediatric populations. We are now aiming at deploying these techniques clinically, which requires full automation. One challenge we face is the lack of standard image acquisition protocols. The content of the image volumes we need to process thus varies greatly and visual inspection and labelling is currently required to initialize processing pipelines. In this work we propose a deep learning-based approach to automatically detect if a head CT volume contains two ears, one ear, or no ear. Our approach has been tested on a data set that contains over 2,000 CT volumes from 153 patients and we achieve an overall 95.97% classification accuracy.

Field Geology/Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Carlton; Jakes, Petr; Jaumann, Ralf; Marshall, John; Moses, Stewart; Ryder, Graham; Saunders, Stephen; Singer, Robert

1996-01-01

The field geology/process group examined the basic operations of a terrestrial field geologist and the manner in which these operations could be transferred to a planetary lander. Four basic requirements for robotic field geology were determined: geologic content; surface vision; mobility; and manipulation. Geologic content requires a combination of orbital and descent imaging. Surface vision requirements include range, resolution, stereo, and multispectral imaging. The minimum mobility for useful field geology depends on the scale of orbital imagery. Manipulation requirements include exposing unweathered surfaces, screening samples, and bringing samples in contact with analytical instruments. To support these requirements, several advanced capabilities for future development are recommended. Capabilities include near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy, hyper-spectral imaging, multispectral microscopy, artificial intelligence in support of imaging, x ray diffraction, x ray fluorescence, and rock chipping.

Tracker: Image-Processing and Object-Tracking System Developed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimek, Robert B.; Wright, Theodore W.

1999-01-01

Tracker is an object-tracking and image-processing program designed and developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center to help with the analysis of images generated by microgravity combustion and fluid physics experiments. Experiments are often recorded on film or videotape for analysis later. Tracker automates the process of examining each frame of the recorded experiment, performing image-processing operations to bring out the desired detail, and recording the positions of the objects of interest. It can load sequences of images from disk files or acquire images (via a frame grabber) from film transports, videotape, laser disks, or a live camera. Tracker controls the image source to automatically advance to the next frame. It can employ a large array of image-processing operations to enhance the detail of the acquired images and can analyze an arbitrarily large number of objects simultaneously. Several different tracking algorithms are available, including conventional threshold and correlation-based techniques, and more esoteric procedures such as "snake" tracking and automated recognition of character data in the image. The Tracker software was written to be operated by researchers, thus every attempt was made to make the software as user friendly and self-explanatory as possible. Tracker is used by most of the microgravity combustion and fluid physics experiments performed by Lewis, and by visiting researchers. This includes experiments performed on the space shuttles, Mir, sounding rockets, zero-g research airplanes, drop towers, and ground-based laboratories. This software automates the analysis of the flame or liquid s physical parameters such as position, velocity, acceleration, size, shape, intensity characteristics, color, and centroid, as well as a number of other measurements. It can perform these operations on multiple objects simultaneously. Another key feature of Tracker is that it performs optical character recognition (OCR). This feature is useful in extracting numerical instrumentation data that are embedded in images. All the results are saved in files for further data reduction and graphing. There are currently three Tracking Systems (workstations) operating near the laboratories and offices of Lewis Microgravity Science Division researchers. These systems are used independently by students, scientists, and university-based principal investigators. The researchers bring their tapes or films to the workstation and perform the tracking analysis. The resultant data files generated by the tracking process can then be analyzed on the spot, although most of the time researchers prefer to transfer them via the network to their offices for further analysis or plotting. In addition, many researchers have installed Tracker on computers in their office for desktop analysis of digital image sequences, which can be digitized by the Tracking System or some other means. Tracker has not only provided a capability to efficiently and automatically analyze large volumes of data, saving many hours of tedious work, but has also provided new capabilities to extract valuable information and phenomena that was heretofore undetected and unexploited.

Feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic image based on multiscale analysis and morphology.

PubMed

Wu, Shibin; Yu, Shaode; Yang, Yuhan; Xie, Yaoqin

2013-01-01

A new algorithm for feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic images is proposed in this paper. The approach bases on multiscale transform and mathematical morphology. First of all, the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid operator is applied to transform the mammography into different scale subband images. In addition, the detail or high frequency subimages are equalized by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and low-pass subimages are processed by mathematical morphology. Finally, the enhanced image of feature and contrast is reconstructed from the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid coefficients modified at one or more levels by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and mathematical morphology, respectively. The enhanced image is processed by global nonlinear operator. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm is effective for feature and contrast enhancement of mammogram. The performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is measured by contrast evaluation criterion for image, signal-noise-ratio (SNR), and contrast improvement index (CII).

Feature and Contrast Enhancement of Mammographic Image Based on Multiscale Analysis and Morphology

PubMed Central

Wu, Shibin; Xie, Yaoqin

2013-01-01

A new algorithm for feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic images is proposed in this paper. The approach bases on multiscale transform and mathematical morphology. First of all, the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid operator is applied to transform the mammography into different scale subband images. In addition, the detail or high frequency subimages are equalized by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and low-pass subimages are processed by mathematical morphology. Finally, the enhanced image of feature and contrast is reconstructed from the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid coefficients modified at one or more levels by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and mathematical morphology, respectively. The enhanced image is processed by global nonlinear operator. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm is effective for feature and contrast enhancement of mammogram. The performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is measured by contrast evaluation criterion for image, signal-noise-ratio (SNR), and contrast improvement index (CII). PMID:24416072

Advanced Digital Forensic and Steganalysis Methods

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-01

investigation is simultaneously cropped, scaled, and processed, extending the technology when the digital image is printed, developing technology capable ...or other common processing operations). TECNOLOGY APPLICATIONS 1. Determining the origin of digital images 2. Matching an image to a camera...Technology Transfer and Innovation Partnerships Division of Research P.O. Box 6000 State University of New York Binghamton, NY 13902-6000 Phone: 607-777

Ranging Apparatus and Method Implementing Stereo Vision System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Larry C. (Inventor); Cox, Brian J. (Inventor)

1997-01-01

A laser-directed ranging system for use in telerobotics applications and other applications involving physically handicapped individuals. The ranging system includes a left and right video camera mounted on a camera platform, and a remotely positioned operator. The position of the camera platform is controlled by three servo motors to orient the roll axis, pitch axis and yaw axis of the video cameras, based upon an operator input such as head motion. A laser is provided between the left and right video camera and is directed by the user to point to a target device. The images produced by the left and right video cameras are processed to eliminate all background images except for the spot created by the laser. This processing is performed by creating a digital image of the target prior to illumination by the laser, and then eliminating common pixels from the subsequent digital image which includes the laser spot. The horizontal disparity between the two processed images is calculated for use in a stereometric ranging analysis from which range is determined.

A customizable system for real-time image processing using the Blackfin DSProcessor and the MicroC/OS-II real-time kernel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coffey, Stephen; Connell, Joseph

2005-06-01

This paper presents a development platform for real-time image processing based on the ADSP-BF533 Blackfin processor and the MicroC/OS-II real-time operating system (RTOS). MicroC/OS-II is a completely portable, ROMable, pre-emptive, real-time kernel. The Blackfin Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), incorporating the Analog Devices/Intel Micro Signal Architecture (MSA), are a broad family of 16-bit fixed-point products with a dual Multiply Accumulate (MAC) core. In addition, they have a rich instruction set with variable instruction length and both DSP and MCU functionality thus making them ideal for media based applications. Using the MicroC/OS-II for task scheduling and management, the proposed system can capture and process raw RGB data from any standard 8-bit greyscale image sensor in soft real-time and then display the processed result using a simple PC graphical user interface (GUI). Additionally, the GUI allows configuration of the image capture rate and the system and core DSP clock rates thereby allowing connectivity to a selection of image sensors and memory devices. The GUI also allows selection from a set of image processing algorithms based in the embedded operating system.

Automatic target recognition apparatus and method

DOEpatents

Baumgart, Chris W.; Ciarcia, Christopher A.

2000-01-01

An automatic target recognition apparatus (10) is provided, having a video camera/digitizer (12) for producing a digitized image signal (20) representing an image containing therein objects which objects are to be recognized if they meet predefined criteria. The digitized image signal (20) is processed within a video analysis subroutine (22) residing in a computer (14) in a plurality of parallel analysis chains such that the objects are presumed to be lighter in shading than the background in the image in three of the chains and further such that the objects are presumed to be darker than the background in the other three chains. In two of the chains the objects are defined by surface texture analysis using texture filter operations. In another two of the chains the objects are defined by background subtraction operations. In yet another two of the chains the objects are defined by edge enhancement processes. In each of the analysis chains a calculation operation independently determines an error factor relating to the probability that the objects are of the type which should be recognized, and a probability calculation operation combines the results of the analysis chains.

Visual improvement for bad handwriting based on Monte-Carlo method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Cao; Xiao, Jianguo; Xu, Canhui; Jia, Wenhua

2014-03-01

A visual improvement algorithm based on Monte Carlo simulation is proposed in this paper, in order to enhance visual effects for bad handwriting. The whole improvement process is to use well designed typeface so as to optimize bad handwriting image. In this process, a series of linear operators for image transformation are defined for transforming typeface image to approach handwriting image. And specific parameters of linear operators are estimated by Monte Carlo method. Visual improvement experiments illustrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively enhance visual effect for handwriting image as well as maintain the original handwriting features, such as tilt, stroke order and drawing direction etc. The proposed visual improvement algorithm, in this paper, has a huge potential to be applied in tablet computer and Mobile Internet, in order to improve user experience on handwriting.

Maritime Domain Awareness: C4I for the 1000 Ship Navy

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-04

unit action, provide unit sensed contacts, coordinate unit operations, process unit information, release image , and release contact report, Figure 33...Intelligence Tasking Request Intelligence Summary Release Unit Person Incident Release Unit Vessel Incident Process Intelligence Tasking Release Image ...xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Functional Problem Sequence Process Flow. ....................................................4 Figure 2. United

MER Telemetry Processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Hyun H.

2012-01-01

MERTELEMPROC processes telemetered data in data product format and generates Experiment Data Records (EDRs) for many instruments (HAZCAM, NAVCAM, PANCAM, microscopic imager, Moessbauer spectrometer, APXS, RAT, and EDLCAM) on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER). If the data is compressed, then MERTELEMPROC decompresses the data with an appropriate decompression algorithm. There are two compression algorithms (ICER and LOCO) used in MER. This program fulfills a MER specific need to generate Level 1 products within a 60-second time requirement. EDRs generated by this program are used by merinverter, marscahv, marsrad, and marsjplstereo to generate higher-level products for the mission operations. MERTELEPROC was the first GDS program to process the data product. Metadata of the data product is in XML format. The software allows user-configurable input parameters, per-product processing (not streambased processing), and fail-over is allowed if the leading image header is corrupted. It is used within the MER automated pipeline. MERTELEMPROC is part of the OPGS (Operational Product Generation Subsystem) automated pipeline, which analyzes images returned by in situ spacecraft and creates level 1 products to assist in operations, science, and outreach.

High-performance computing in image registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zanin, Michele; Remondino, Fabio; Dalla Mura, Mauro

2012-10-01

Thanks to the recent technological advances, a large variety of image data is at our disposal with variable geometric, radiometric and temporal resolution. In many applications the processing of such images needs high performance computing techniques in order to deliver timely responses e.g. for rapid decisions or real-time actions. Thus, parallel or distributed computing methods, Digital Signal Processor (DSP) architectures, Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) programming and Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices have become essential tools for the challenging issue of processing large amount of geo-data. The article focuses on the processing and registration of large datasets of terrestrial and aerial images for 3D reconstruction, diagnostic purposes and monitoring of the environment. For the image alignment procedure, sets of corresponding feature points need to be automatically extracted in order to successively compute the geometric transformation that aligns the data. The feature extraction and matching are ones of the most computationally demanding operations in the processing chain thus, a great degree of automation and speed is mandatory. The details of the implemented operations (named LARES) exploiting parallel architectures and GPU are thus presented. The innovative aspects of the implementation are (i) the effectiveness on a large variety of unorganized and complex datasets, (ii) capability to work with high-resolution images and (iii) the speed of the computations. Examples and comparisons with standard CPU processing are also reported and commented.

Differential morphology and image processing.

PubMed

Maragos, P

1996-01-01

Image processing via mathematical morphology has traditionally used geometry to intuitively understand morphological signal operators and set or lattice algebra to analyze them in the space domain. We provide a unified view and analytic tools for morphological image processing that is based on ideas from differential calculus and dynamical systems. This includes ideas on using partial differential or difference equations (PDEs) to model distance propagation or nonlinear multiscale processes in images. We briefly review some nonlinear difference equations that implement discrete distance transforms and relate them to numerical solutions of the eikonal equation of optics. We also review some nonlinear PDEs that model the evolution of multiscale morphological operators and use morphological derivatives. Among the new ideas presented, we develop some general 2-D max/min-sum difference equations that model the space dynamics of 2-D morphological systems (including the distance computations) and some nonlinear signal transforms, called slope transforms, that can analyze these systems in a transform domain in ways conceptually similar to the application of Fourier transforms to linear systems. Thus, distance transforms are shown to be bandpass slope filters. We view the analysis of the multiscale morphological PDEs and of the eikonal PDE solved via weighted distance transforms as a unified area in nonlinear image processing, which we call differential morphology, and briefly discuss its potential applications to image processing and computer vision.

Multi-Mission Laser Altimeter Data Processing and Co-Registration of Image and Laser Data at DLR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, A.; Matz, K.-D.; Roatsch, T.

2018-04-01

We designed a system for the processing and storage of large laser altimeter data sets for various past and operating laser altimeter instruments. Furthermore, we developed a technique to accurately co-register multi-mission laser and image data.

Software implementation of the SKIPSM paradigm under PIP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hack, Ralf; Waltz, Frederick M.; Batchelor, Bruce G.

1997-09-01

SKIPSM (separated-kernel image processing using finite state machines) is a technique for implementing large-kernel binary- morphology operators and many other operations. While earlier papers on SKIPSM concentrated mainly on implementations using pipelined hardware, there is considerable scope for achieving major speed improvements in software systems. Using identical control software, one-pass binary erosion and dilation structuring elements (SEs) ranging from the trivial (3 by 3) to the gigantic (51 by 51, or even larger), are readily available. Processing speed is independent of the size of the SE, making the SKIPSM approach practical for work with very large SEs on ordinary desktop computers. PIP (prolog image processing) is an interactive machine vision prototyping environment developed at the University of Wales Cardiff. It consists of a large number of image processing operators embedded within the standard AI language Prolog. This paper describes the SKIPSM implementation of binary morphology operators within PIP. A large set of binary erosion and dilation operations (circles, squares, diamonds, octagons, etc.) is available to the user through a command-line driven dialogue, via pull-down menus, or incorporated into standard (Prolog) programs. Little has been done thus far to optimize speed on this first software implementation of SKIPSM. Nevertheless, the results are impressive. The paper describes sample applications and presents timing figures. Readers have the opportunity to try out these operations on demonstration software written by the University of Wales, or via their WWW home page at http://bruce.cs.cf.ac.uk/bruce/index.html .

The Projects for Onboard Autonomy (PROBA2) Science Centre: Sun Watcher Using APS Detectors and Image Processing (SWAP) and Large-Yield Radiometer (LYRA) Science Operations and Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zender, J.; Berghmans, D.; Bloomfield, D. S.; Cabanas Parada, C.; Dammasch, I.; De Groof, A.; D'Huys, E.; Dominique, M.; Gallagher, P.; Giordanengo, B.; Higgins, P. A.; Hochedez, J.-F.; Yalim, M. S.; Nicula, B.; Pylyser, E.; Sanchez-Duarte, L.; Schwehm, G.; Seaton, D. B.; Stanger, A.; Stegen, K.; Willems, S.

2013-08-01

The PROBA2 Science Centre (P2SC) is a small-scale science operations centre supporting the Sun observation instruments onboard PROBA2: the EUV imager Sun Watcher using APS detectors and image Processing (SWAP) and Large-Yield Radiometer (LYRA). PROBA2 is one of ESA's small, low-cost Projects for Onboard Autonomy (PROBA) and part of ESA's In-Orbit Technology Demonstration Programme. The P2SC is hosted at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, co-located with both Principal Investigator teams. The P2SC tasks cover science planning, instrument commanding, instrument monitoring, data processing, support of outreach activities, and distribution of science data products. PROBA missions aim for a high degree of autonomy at mission and system level, including the science operations centre. The autonomy and flexibility of the P2SC is reached by a set of web-based interfaces allowing the operators as well as the instrument teams to monitor quasi-continuously the status of the operations, allowing a quick reaction to solar events. In addition, several new concepts are implemented at instrument, spacecraft, and ground-segment levels allowing a high degree of flexibility in the operations of the instruments. This article explains the key concepts of the P2SC, emphasising the automation and the flexibility achieved in the commanding as well as the data-processing chain.

Binary CMOS image sensor with a gate/body-tied MOSFET-type photodetector for high-speed operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Byoung-Soo; Jo, Sung-Hyun; Bae, Myunghan; Kim, Sang-Hwan; Shin, Jang-Kyoo

2016-05-01

In this paper, a binary complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor with a gate/body-tied (GBT) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET)-type photodetector is presented. The sensitivity of the GBT MOSFET-type photodetector, which was fabricated using the standard CMOS 0.35-μm process, is higher than the sensitivity of the p-n junction photodiode, because the output signal of the photodetector is amplified by the MOSFET. A binary image sensor becomes more efficient when using this photodetector. Lower power consumptions and higher speeds of operation are possible, compared to the conventional image sensors using multi-bit analog to digital converters (ADCs). The frame rate of the proposed image sensor is over 2000 frames per second, which is higher than those of the conventional CMOS image sensors. The output signal of an active pixel sensor is applied to a comparator and compared with a reference level. The 1-bit output data of the binary process is determined by this level. To obtain a video signal, the 1-bit output data is stored in the memory and is read out by horizontal scanning. The proposed chip is composed of a GBT pixel array (144 × 100), binary-process circuit, vertical scanner, horizontal scanner, and readout circuit. The operation mode can be selected from between binary mode and multi-bit mode.

21 CFR 892.2050 - Picture archiving and communications system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... processing of medical images. Its hardware components may include workstations, digitizers, communications... hardcopy devices. The software components may provide functions for performing operations related to image...

21 CFR 892.2050 - Picture archiving and communications system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... processing of medical images. Its hardware components may include workstations, digitizers, communications... hardcopy devices. The software components may provide functions for performing operations related to image...

21 CFR 892.2050 - Picture archiving and communications system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... processing of medical images. Its hardware components may include workstations, digitizers, communications... hardcopy devices. The software components may provide functions for performing operations related to image...

21 CFR 892.2050 - Picture archiving and communications system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... processing of medical images. Its hardware components may include workstations, digitizers, communications... hardcopy devices. The software components may provide functions for performing operations related to image...

Computational intelligence for target assessment in Parkinson's disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micheli-Tzanakou, Evangelia; Hamilton, J. L.; Zheng, J.; Lehman, Richard M.

2001-11-01

Recent advances in image and signal processing have created a new challenging environment for biomedical engineers. Methods that were developed for different fields are now finding a fertile ground in biomedicine, especially in the analysis of bio-signals and in the understanding of images. More and more, these methods are used in the operating room, helping surgeons, and in the physician's office as aids for diagnostic purposes. Neural Network (NN) research on the other hand, has gone a long way in the past decade. NNs now consist of many thousands of highly interconnected processing elements that can encode, store and recall relationships between different patterns by altering the weighting coefficients of inputs in a systematic way. Although they can generate reasonable outputs from unknown input patterns, and can tolerate a great deal of noise, they are very slow when run on a serial machine. We have used advanced signal processing and innovative image processing methods that are used along with computational intelligence for diagnostic purposes and as visualization aids inside and outside the operating room. Applications to be discussed include EEGs and field potentials in Parkinson's disease along with 3D reconstruction of MR or fMR brain images in Parkinson's patients, are currently used in the operating room for Pallidotomies and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).

Automated characterisation of ultrasound images of ovarian tumours: the diagnostic accuracy of a support vector machine and image processing with a local binary pattern operator

PubMed Central

Khazendar, S.; Sayasneh, A.; Al-Assam, H.; Du, H.; Kaijser, J.; Ferrara, L.; Timmerman, D.; Jassim, S.; Bourne, T.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Preoperative characterisation of ovarian masses into benign or malignant is of paramount importance to optimise patient management. Objectives: In this study, we developed and validated a computerised model to characterise ovarian masses as benign or malignant. Materials and methods: Transvaginal 2D B mode static ultrasound images of 187 ovarian masses with known histological diagnosis were included. Images were first pre-processed and enhanced, and Local Binary Pattern Histograms were then extracted from 2 × 2 blocks of each image. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) was trained using stratified cross validation with randomised sampling. The process was repeated 15 times and in each round 100 images were randomly selected. Results: The SVM classified the original non-treated static images as benign or malignant masses with an average accuracy of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.59-0.65). This performance significantly improved to an average accuracy of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.75-0.79) when images were pre-processed, enhanced and treated with a Local Binary Pattern operator (mean difference 0.15: 95% 0.11-0.19, p < 0.0001, two-tailed t test). Conclusion: We have shown that an SVM can classify static 2D B mode ultrasound images of ovarian masses into benign and malignant categories. The accuracy improves if texture related LBP features extracted from the images are considered. PMID:25897367

A discriminative structural similarity measure and its application to video-volume registration for endoscope three-dimensional motion tracking.

PubMed

Luo, Xiongbiao; Mori, Kensaku

2014-06-01

Endoscope 3-D motion tracking, which seeks to synchronize pre- and intra-operative images in endoscopic interventions, is usually performed as video-volume registration that optimizes the similarity between endoscopic video and pre-operative images. The tracking performance, in turn, depends significantly on whether a similarity measure can successfully characterize the difference between video sequences and volume rendering images driven by pre-operative images. The paper proposes a discriminative structural similarity measure, which uses the degradation of structural information and takes image correlation or structure, luminance, and contrast into consideration, to boost video-volume registration. By applying the proposed similarity measure to endoscope tracking, it was demonstrated to be more accurate and robust than several available similarity measures, e.g., local normalized cross correlation, normalized mutual information, modified mean square error, or normalized sum squared difference. Based on clinical data evaluation, the tracking error was reduced significantly from at least 14.6 mm to 4.5 mm. The processing time was accelerated more than 30 frames per second using graphics processing unit.

Software for Displaying Data from Planetary Rovers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Mark; Backers, Paul; Norris, Jeffrey; Vona, Marsette; Steinke, Robert

2003-01-01

Science Activity Planner (SAP) DownlinkBrowser is a computer program that assists in the visualization of processed telemetric data [principally images, image cubes (that is, multispectral images), and spectra] that have been transmitted to Earth from exploratory robotic vehicles (rovers) on remote planets. It is undergoing adaptation to (1) the Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover (a prototype Mars-exploration rover operated on Earth as a test bed) and (2) the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. This program has evolved from its predecessor - the Web Interface for Telescience (WITS) software - and surpasses WITS in the processing, organization, and plotting of data. SAP DownlinkBrowser creates Extensible Markup Language (XML) files that organize data files, on the basis of content, into a sortable, searchable product database, without the overhead of a relational database. The data-display components of SAP DownlinkBrowser (descriptively named ImageView, 3DView, OrbitalView, PanoramaView, ImageCubeView, and SpectrumView) are designed to run in a memory footprint of at least 256MB on computers that utilize the Windows, Linux, and Solaris operating systems.

Development of Targeting UAVs Using Electric Helicopters and Yamaha RMAX

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-17

including the QNX real - time operating system . The video overlay board is useful to display the onboard camera’s image with important information such as... real - time operating system . Fully utilizing the built-in multi-processing architecture with inter-process synchronization and communication

IRQN award paper: Operational rounds: a practical administrative process to improve safety and clinical services in radiology.

PubMed

Donnelly, Lane F; Dickerson, Julie M; Lehkamp, Todd W; Gessner, Kevin E; Moskovitz, Jay; Hutchinson, Sally

2008-11-01

As part of a patient safety program in the authors' department of radiology, operational rounds have been instituted. This process consists of radiology leaders' visiting imaging divisions at the site of imaging and discussing frontline employees' concerns about patient safety, the quality of care, and patient and family satisfaction. Operational rounds are executed at a time to optimize the number of attendees. Minutes that describe the issues identified, persons responsible for improvement, and updated improvement plan status are available to employees online. Via this process, multiple patient safety and other issues have been identified and remedied. The authors believe that the process has improved patient safety, the quality of care, and the efficiency of operations. Since the inception of the safety program, the mean number of days between serious safety events involving radiology has doubled. The authors review the background around such walk rounds, describe their particular program, and give multiple illustrative examples of issues identified and improvement plans put in place.

Robust algebraic image enhancement for intelligent control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lerner, Bao-Ting; Morrelli, Michael

1993-01-01

Robust vision capability for intelligent control systems has been an elusive goal in image processing. The computationally intensive techniques a necessary for conventional image processing make real-time applications, such as object tracking and collision avoidance difficult. In order to endow an intelligent control system with the needed vision robustness, an adequate image enhancement subsystem capable of compensating for the wide variety of real-world degradations, must exist between the image capturing and the object recognition subsystems. This enhancement stage must be adaptive and must operate with consistency in the presence of both statistical and shape-based noise. To deal with this problem, we have developed an innovative algebraic approach which provides a sound mathematical framework for image representation and manipulation. Our image model provides a natural platform from which to pursue dynamic scene analysis, and its incorporation into a vision system would serve as the front-end to an intelligent control system. We have developed a unique polynomial representation of gray level imagery and applied this representation to develop polynomial operators on complex gray level scenes. This approach is highly advantageous since polynomials can be manipulated very easily, and are readily understood, thus providing a very convenient environment for image processing. Our model presents a highly structured and compact algebraic representation of grey-level images which can be viewed as fuzzy sets.

Medical image processing on the GPU - past, present and future.

PubMed

Eklund, Anders; Dufort, Paul; Forsberg, Daniel; LaConte, Stephen M

2013-12-01

Graphics processing units (GPUs) are used today in a wide range of applications, mainly because they can dramatically accelerate parallel computing, are affordable and energy efficient. In the field of medical imaging, GPUs are in some cases crucial for enabling practical use of computationally demanding algorithms. This review presents the past and present work on GPU accelerated medical image processing, and is meant to serve as an overview and introduction to existing GPU implementations. The review covers GPU acceleration of basic image processing operations (filtering, interpolation, histogram estimation and distance transforms), the most commonly used algorithms in medical imaging (image registration, image segmentation and image denoising) and algorithms that are specific to individual modalities (CT, PET, SPECT, MRI, fMRI, DTI, ultrasound, optical imaging and microscopy). The review ends by highlighting some future possibilities and challenges. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Subdivision-Based Representation for Vector Image Editing.

PubMed

Liao, Zicheng; Hoppe, Hugues; Forsyth, David; Yu, Yizhou

2012-11-01

Vector graphics has been employed in a wide variety of applications due to its scalability and editability. Editability is a high priority for artists and designers who wish to produce vector-based graphical content with user interaction. In this paper, we introduce a new vector image representation based on piecewise smooth subdivision surfaces, which is a simple, unified and flexible framework that supports a variety of operations, including shape editing, color editing, image stylization, and vector image processing. These operations effectively create novel vector graphics by reusing and altering existing image vectorization results. Because image vectorization yields an abstraction of the original raster image, controlling the level of detail of this abstraction is highly desirable. To this end, we design a feature-oriented vector image pyramid that offers multiple levels of abstraction simultaneously. Our new vector image representation can be rasterized efficiently using GPU-accelerated subdivision. Experiments indicate that our vector image representation achieves high visual quality and better supports editing operations than existing representations.

Ultrasound image edge detection based on a novel multiplicative gradient and Canny operator.

PubMed

Zheng, Yinfei; Zhou, Yali; Zhou, Hao; Gong, Xiaohong

2015-07-01

To achieve the fast and accurate segmentation of ultrasound image, a novel edge detection method for speckle noised ultrasound images was proposed, which was based on the traditional Canny and a novel multiplicative gradient operator. The proposed technique combines a new multiplicative gradient operator of non-Newtonian type with the traditional Canny operator to generate the initial edge map, which is subsequently optimized by the following edge tracing step. To verify the proposed method, we compared it with several other edge detection methods that had good robustness to noise, with experiments on the simulated and in vivo medical ultrasound image. Experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm has higher speed for real-time processing, and the edge detection accuracy could be 75% or more. Thus, the proposed method is very suitable for fast and accurate edge detection of medical ultrasound images. © The Author(s) 2014.

Acceleration of integral imaging based incoherent Fourier hologram capture using graphic processing unit.

PubMed

Jeong, Kyeong-Min; Kim, Hee-Seung; Hong, Sung-In; Lee, Sung-Keun; Jo, Na-Young; Kim, Yong-Soo; Lim, Hong-Gi; Park, Jae-Hyeung

2012-10-08

Speed enhancement of integral imaging based incoherent Fourier hologram capture using a graphic processing unit is reported. Integral imaging based method enables exact hologram capture of real-existing three-dimensional objects under regular incoherent illumination. In our implementation, we apply parallel computation scheme using the graphic processing unit, accelerating the processing speed. Using enhanced speed of hologram capture, we also implement a pseudo real-time hologram capture and optical reconstruction system. The overall operation speed is measured to be 1 frame per second.

Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) radiometric performance on-orbit

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morfitt, Ron; Barsi, Julia A.; Levy, Raviv; Markham, Brian L.; Micijevic, Esad; Ong, Lawrence; Scaramuzza, Pat; Vanderwerff, Kelly

2015-01-01

Expectations of the Operational Land Imager (OLI) radiometric performance onboard Landsat-8 have been met or exceeded. The calibration activities that occurred prior to launch provided calibration parameters that enabled ground processing to produce imagery that met most requirements when data were transmitted to the ground. Since launch, calibration updates have improved the image quality even more, so that all requirements are met. These updates range from detector gain coefficients to reduce striping and banding to alignment parameters to improve the geometric accuracy. This paper concentrates on the on-orbit radiometric performance of the OLI, excepting the radiometric calibration performance. Topics discussed in this paper include: signal-to-noise ratios that are an order of magnitude higher than previous Landsat missions; radiometric uniformity that shows little residual banding and striping, and continues to improve; a dynamic range that limits saturation to extremely high radiance levels; extremely stable detectors; slight nonlinearity that is corrected in ground processing; detectors that are stable and 100% operable; and few image artifacts.

Using AI Planning Techniques to Automatically Generate Image Processing Procedures: A Preliminary Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, S.

1994-01-01

This paper describes work on the Multimission VICAR Planner (MVP) system to automatically construct executable image processing procedures for custom image processing requests for the JPL Multimission Image Processing Lab (MIPL). This paper focuses on two issues. First, large search spaces caused by complex plans required the use of hand encoded control information. In order to address this in a manner similar to that used by human experts, MVP uses a decomposition-based planner to implement hierarchical/skeletal planning at the higher level and then uses a classical operator based planner to solve subproblems in contexts defined by the high-level decomposition.

A low-cost vector processor boosting compute-intensive image processing operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adorf, Hans-Martin

1992-01-01

Low-cost vector processing (VP) is within reach of everyone seriously engaged in scientific computing. The advent of affordable add-on VP-boards for standard workstations complemented by mathematical/statistical libraries is beginning to impact compute-intensive tasks such as image processing. A case in point in the restoration of distorted images from the Hubble Space Telescope. A low-cost implementation is presented of the standard Tarasko-Richardson-Lucy restoration algorithm on an Intel i860-based VP-board which is seamlessly interfaced to a commercial, interactive image processing system. First experience is reported (including some benchmarks for standalone FFT's) and some conclusions are drawn.

Computer vision applications for coronagraphic optical alignment and image processing.

PubMed

Savransky, Dmitry; Thomas, Sandrine J; Poyneer, Lisa A; Macintosh, Bruce A

2013-05-10

Modern coronagraphic systems require very precise alignment between optical components and can benefit greatly from automated image processing. We discuss three techniques commonly employed in the fields of computer vision and image analysis as applied to the Gemini Planet Imager, a new facility instrument for the Gemini South Observatory. We describe how feature extraction and clustering methods can be used to aid in automated system alignment tasks, and also present a search algorithm for finding regular features in science images used for calibration and data processing. Along with discussions of each technique, we present our specific implementation and show results of each one in operation.

Spotlight-8 Image Analysis Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimek, Robert; Wright, Ted

2006-01-01

Spotlight is a cross-platform GUI-based software package designed to perform image analysis on sequences of images generated by combustion and fluid physics experiments run in a microgravity environment. Spotlight can perform analysis on a single image in an interactive mode or perform analysis on a sequence of images in an automated fashion. Image processing operations can be employed to enhance the image before various statistics and measurement operations are performed. An arbitrarily large number of objects can be analyzed simultaneously with independent areas of interest. Spotlight saves results in a text file that can be imported into other programs for graphing or further analysis. Spotlight can be run on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple OS X platforms.

Error analysis of filtering operations in pixel-duplicated images of diabetic retinopathy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrubeoglu, Mehrube; McLauchlan, Lifford

2010-08-01

In this paper, diabetic retinopathy is chosen for a sample target image to demonstrate the effectiveness of image enlargement through pixel duplication in identifying regions of interest. Pixel duplication is presented as a simpler alternative to data interpolation techniques for detecting small structures in the images. A comparative analysis is performed on different image processing schemes applied to both original and pixel-duplicated images. Structures of interest are detected and and classification parameters optimized for minimum false positive detection in the original and enlarged retinal pictures. The error analysis demonstrates the advantages as well as shortcomings of pixel duplication in image enhancement when spatial averaging operations (smoothing filters) are also applied.

The effect of image processing on the detection of cancers in digital mammography.

PubMed

Warren, Lucy M; Given-Wilson, Rosalind M; Wallis, Matthew G; Cooke, Julie; Halling-Brown, Mark D; Mackenzie, Alistair; Chakraborty, Dev P; Bosmans, Hilde; Dance, David R; Young, Kenneth C

2014-08-01

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to investigate the effect of image processing on the detection of cancers in digital mammography images. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Two hundred seventy pairs of breast images (both breasts, one view) were collected from eight systems using Hologic amorphous selenium detectors: 80 image pairs showed breasts containing subtle malignant masses; 30 image pairs, biopsy-proven benign lesions; 80 image pairs, simulated calcification clusters; and 80 image pairs, no cancer (normal). The 270 image pairs were processed with three types of image processing: standard (full enhancement), low contrast (intermediate enhancement), and pseudo-film-screen (no enhancement). Seven experienced observers inspected the images, locating and rating regions they suspected to be cancer for likelihood of malignancy. The results were analyzed using a jackknife-alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC) analysis. RESULTS. The detection of calcification clusters was significantly affected by the type of image processing: The JAFROC figure of merit (FOM) decreased from 0.65 with standard image processing to 0.63 with low-contrast image processing (p = 0.04) and from 0.65 with standard image processing to 0.61 with film-screen image processing (p = 0.0005). The detection of noncalcification cancers was not significantly different among the image-processing types investigated (p > 0.40). CONCLUSION. These results suggest that image processing has a significant impact on the detection of calcification clusters in digital mammography. For the three image-processing versions and the system investigated, standard image processing was optimal for the detection of calcification clusters. The effect on cancer detection should be considered when selecting the type of image processing in the future.

A design of real time image capturing and processing system using Texas Instrument's processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Toon-Joo; Chaisorn, Lekha; Rahardja, Susanto; Gan, Woon-Seng

2007-09-01

In this work, we developed and implemented an image capturing and processing system that equipped with capability of capturing images from an input video in real time. The input video can be a video from a PC, video camcorder or DVD player. We developed two modes of operation in the system. In the first mode, an input image from the PC is processed on the processing board (development platform with a digital signal processor) and is displayed on the PC. In the second mode, current captured image from the video camcorder (or from DVD player) is processed on the board but is displayed on the LCD monitor. The major difference between our system and other existing conventional systems is that image-processing functions are performed on the board instead of the PC (so that the functions can be used for further developments on the board). The user can control the operations of the board through the Graphic User Interface (GUI) provided on the PC. In order to have a smooth image data transfer between the PC and the board, we employed Real Time Data Transfer (RTDX TM) technology to create a link between them. For image processing functions, we developed three main groups of function: (1) Point Processing; (2) Filtering and; (3) 'Others'. Point Processing includes rotation, negation and mirroring. Filter category provides median, adaptive, smooth and sharpen filtering in the time domain. In 'Others' category, auto-contrast adjustment, edge detection, segmentation and sepia color are provided, these functions either add effect on the image or enhance the image. We have developed and implemented our system using C/C# programming language on TMS320DM642 (or DM642) board from Texas Instruments (TI). The system was showcased in College of Engineering (CoE) exhibition 2006 at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and have more than 40 users tried our system. It is demonstrated that our system is adequate for real time image capturing. Our system can be used or applied for applications such as medical imaging, video surveillance, etc.

Image acquisition system for traffic monitoring applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auty, Glen; Corke, Peter I.; Dunn, Paul; Jensen, Murray; Macintyre, Ian B.; Mills, Dennis C.; Nguyen, Hao; Simons, Ben

1995-03-01

An imaging system for monitoring traffic on multilane highways is discussed. The system, named Safe-T-Cam, is capable of operating 24 hours per day in all but extreme weather conditions and can capture still images of vehicles traveling up to 160 km/hr. Systems operating at different remote locations are networked to allow transmission of images and data to a control center. A remote site facility comprises a vehicle detection and classification module (VCDM), an image acquisition module (IAM) and a license plate recognition module (LPRM). The remote site is connected to the central site by an ISDN communications network. The remote site system is discussed in this paper. The VCDM consists of a video camera, a specialized exposure control unit to maintain consistent image characteristics, and a 'real-time' image processing system that processes 50 images per second. The VCDM can detect and classify vehicles (e.g. cars from trucks). The vehicle class is used to determine what data should be recorded. The VCDM uses a vehicle tracking technique to allow optimum triggering of the high resolution camera of the IAM. The IAM camera combines the features necessary to operate consistently in the harsh environment encountered when imaging a vehicle 'head-on' in both day and night conditions. The image clarity obtained is ideally suited for automatic location and recognition of the vehicle license plate. This paper discusses the camera geometry, sensor characteristics and the image processing methods which permit consistent vehicle segmentation from a cluttered background allowing object oriented pattern recognition to be used for vehicle classification. The image capture of high resolution images and the image characteristics required for the LPRMs automatic reading of vehicle license plates, is also discussed. The results of field tests presented demonstrate that the vision based Safe-T-Cam system, currently installed on open highways, is capable of producing automatic classification of vehicle class and recording of vehicle numberplates with a success rate around 90 percent in a period of 24 hours.

Mars Orbiter Camera Views the 'Face on Mars' - Calibrated, contrast enhanced, filtered,

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning (5 April 1998 12:39 AM PST), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully acquired a high resolution image of the 'Face on Mars' feature in the Cydonia region. The image was transmitted to Earth on Sunday, and retrieved from the mission computer data base Monday morning (6 April 1998). The image was processed at the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) facility 9:15 AM and the raw image immediately transferred to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for release to the Internet. The images shown here were subsequently processed at MSSS.

The picture was acquired 375 seconds after the spacecraft's 220th close approach to Mars. At that time, the 'Face', located at approximately 40.8o N, 9.6o W, was 275 miles (444 km) from the spacecraft. The 'morning' sun was 25o above the horizon. The picture has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's. The full image covers an area 2.7 miles (4.4 km) wide and 25.7 miles (41.5 km) long. Processing Image processing has been applied to the images in order to improve the visibility of features. This processing included the following steps:

The image was processed to remove the sensitivity differences between adjacent picture elements (calibrated). This removes the vertical streaking.

The contrast and brightness of the image was adjusted, and 'filters' were applied to enhance detail at several scales.

The image was then geometrically warped to meet the computed position information for a mercator-type map. This corrected for the left-right flip, and the non-vertical viewing angle (about 45o from vertical), but also introduced some vertical 'elongation' of the image for the same reason Greenland looks larger than Africa on a mercator map of the Earth.

A section of the image, containing the 'Face' and a couple of nearly impact craters and hills, was 'cut' out of the full image and reproduced separately.

See PIA01440-1442 for additional processing steps. Also see PIA01236 for the raw image.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Mars Orbiter Camera Views the 'Face on Mars' - Calibrated, contrast enhanced, filtered

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning (5 April 1998 12:39 AM PST), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully acquired a high resolution image of the 'Face on Mars' feature in the Cydonia region. The image was transmitted to Earth on Sunday, and retrieved from the mission computer data base Monday morning (6 April 1998). The image was processed at the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) facility 9:15 AM and the raw image immediately transferred to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for release to the Internet. The images shown here were subsequently processed at MSSS.

The picture was acquired 375 seconds after the spacecraft's 220th close approach to Mars. At that time, the 'Face', located at approximately 40.8o N, 9.6o W, was 275 miles (444 km) from the spacecraft. The 'morning' sun was 25o above the horizon. The picture has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's. The full image covers an area 2.7 miles (4.4 km) wide and 25.7 miles (41.5 km) long. Processing Image processing has been applied to the images in order to improve the visibility of features. This processing included the following steps:

The image was processed to remove the sensitivity differences between adjacent picture elements (calibrated). This removes the vertical streaking.

The contrast and brightness of the image was adjusted, and 'filters' were applied to enhance detail at several scales.

The image was then geometrically warped to meet the computed position information for a mercator-type map. This corrected for the left-right flip, and the non-vertical viewing angle (about 45o from vertical), but also introduced some vertical 'elongation' of the image for the same reason Greenland looks larger than Africa on a mercator map of the Earth.

A section of the image, containing the 'Face' and a couple of nearly impact craters and hills, was 'cut' out of the full image and reproduced separately.

See PIA01441-1442 for additional processing steps. Also see PIA01236 for the raw image.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Curvatures Estimation in Orientation Selection

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-31

processes are run at the same scale ). Not only is the L/L edge operator as accurate, it makes explicit a great deal of information which is either...Figure 11: An artificial image used to test the image operators. This is an anti-alia sed grey- scale image of lines and curves, which represent the...MacKay, "Influence of luminance gra- dient reversal on simple cells in feline striate cortex," J. Physiology (London), vol. 337, pp. 69--87, 1983

Autofluorescence detection and imaging of bladder cancer realized through a cystoscope

DOEpatents

Demos, Stavros G [Livermore, CA; deVere White, Ralph W [Sacramento, CA

2007-08-14

Near infrared imaging using elastic light scattering and tissue autofluorescence and utilizing interior examination techniques and equipment are explored for medical applications. The approach involves imaging using cross-polarized elastic light scattering and/or tissue autofluorescence in the Near Infra-Red (NIR) coupled with image processing and inter-image operations to differentiate human tissue components.

Real-time model-based vision system for object acquisition and tracking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Brian; Gennery, Donald B.; Bon, Bruce; Litwin, Todd

1987-01-01

A machine vision system is described which is designed to acquire and track polyhedral objects moving and rotating in space by means of two or more cameras, programmable image-processing hardware, and a general-purpose computer for high-level functions. The image-processing hardware is capable of performing a large variety of operations on images and on image-like arrays of data. Acquisition utilizes image locations and velocities of the features extracted by the image-processing hardware to determine the three-dimensional position, orientation, velocity, and angular velocity of the object. Tracking correlates edges detected in the current image with edge locations predicted from an internal model of the object and its motion, continually updating velocity information to predict where edges should appear in future frames. With some 10 frames processed per second, real-time tracking is possible.

Digital image processing for information extraction.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Billingsley, F. C.

1973-01-01

The modern digital computer has made practical image processing techniques for handling nonlinear operations in both the geometrical and the intensity domains, various types of nonuniform noise cleanup, and the numerical analysis of pictures. An initial requirement is that a number of anomalies caused by the camera (e.g., geometric distortion, MTF roll-off, vignetting, and nonuniform intensity response) must be taken into account or removed to avoid their interference with the information extraction process. Examples illustrating these operations are discussed along with computer techniques used to emphasize details, perform analyses, classify materials by multivariate analysis, detect temporal differences, and aid in human interpretation of photos.

Using quantum filters to process images of diffuse axonal injury

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pineda Osorio, Mateo

2014-06-01

Some images corresponding to a diffuse axonal injury (DAI) are processed using several quantum filters such as Hermite Weibull and Morse. Diffuse axonal injury is a particular, common and severe case of traumatic brain injury (TBI). DAI involves global damage on microscopic scale of brain tissue and causes serious neurologic abnormalities. New imaging techniques provide excellent images showing cellular damages related to DAI. Said images can be processed with quantum filters, which accomplish high resolutions of dendritic and axonal structures both in normal and pathological state. Using the Laplacian operators from the new quantum filters, excellent edge detectors for neurofiber resolution are obtained. Image quantum processing of DAI images is made using computer algebra, specifically Maple. Quantum filter plugins construction is proposed as a future research line, which can incorporated to the ImageJ software package, making its use simpler for medical personnel.

15 CFR 960.11 - Conditions for operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.... During such limitations, the licensee shall, on request, provide unenhanced restricted images on a..., processing, archiving and dissemination. (i) If the operating license restricts the distribution of certain...

Fuzzy-based propagation of prior knowledge to improve large-scale image analysis pipelines

PubMed Central

Mikut, Ralf

2017-01-01

Many automatically analyzable scientific questions are well-posed and a variety of information about expected outcomes is available a priori. Although often neglected, this prior knowledge can be systematically exploited to make automated analysis operations sensitive to a desired phenomenon or to evaluate extracted content with respect to this prior knowledge. For instance, the performance of processing operators can be greatly enhanced by a more focused detection strategy and by direct information about the ambiguity inherent in the extracted data. We present a new concept that increases the result quality awareness of image analysis operators by estimating and distributing the degree of uncertainty involved in their output based on prior knowledge. This allows the use of simple processing operators that are suitable for analyzing large-scale spatiotemporal (3D+t) microscopy images without compromising result quality. On the foundation of fuzzy set theory, we transform available prior knowledge into a mathematical representation and extensively use it to enhance the result quality of various processing operators. These concepts are illustrated on a typical bioimage analysis pipeline comprised of seed point detection, segmentation, multiview fusion and tracking. The functionality of the proposed approach is further validated on a comprehensive simulated 3D+t benchmark data set that mimics embryonic development and on large-scale light-sheet microscopy data of a zebrafish embryo. The general concept introduced in this contribution represents a new approach to efficiently exploit prior knowledge to improve the result quality of image analysis pipelines. The generality of the concept makes it applicable to practically any field with processing strategies that are arranged as linear pipelines. The automated analysis of terabyte-scale microscopy data will especially benefit from sophisticated and efficient algorithms that enable a quantitative and fast readout. PMID:29095927

Hybrid vision activities at NASA Johnson Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juday, Richard D.

1990-01-01

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is active in several aspects of hybrid image processing. (The term hybrid image processing refers to a system that combines digital and photonic processing). The major thrusts are autonomous space operations such as planetary landing, servicing, and rendezvous and docking. By processing images in non-Cartesian geometries to achieve shift invariance to canonical distortions, researchers use certain aspects of the human visual system for machine vision. That technology flow is bidirectional; researchers are investigating the possible utility of video-rate coordinate transformations for human low-vision patients. Man-in-the-loop teleoperations are also supported by the use of video-rate image-coordinate transformations, as researchers plan to use bandwidth compression tailored to the varying spatial acuity of the human operator. Technological elements being developed in the program include upgraded spatial light modulators, real-time coordinate transformations in video imagery, synthetic filters that robustly allow estimation of object pose parameters, convolutionally blurred filters that have continuously selectable invariance to such image changes as magnification and rotation, and optimization of optical correlation done with spatial light modulators that have limited range and couple both phase and amplitude in their response.

A scientific operations plan for the large space telescope. [ground support system design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

West, D. K.

1977-01-01

The paper describes an LST ground system which is compatible with the operational requirements of the LST. The goal of the approach is to minimize the cost of post launch operations without seriously compromising the quality and total throughput of LST science. Attention is given to cost constraints and guidelines, the telemetry operations processing systems (TELOPS), the image processing facility, ground system planning and data flow, and scientific interfaces.

On techniques for angle compensation in nonideal iris recognition.

PubMed

Schuckers, Stephanie A C; Schmid, Natalia A; Abhyankar, Aditya; Dorairaj, Vivekanand; Boyce, Christopher K; Hornak, Lawrence A

2007-10-01

The popularity of the iris biometric has grown considerably over the past two to three years. Most research has been focused on the development of new iris processing and recognition algorithms for frontal view iris images. However, a few challenging directions in iris research have been identified, including processing of a nonideal iris and iris at a distance. In this paper, we describe two nonideal iris recognition systems and analyze their performance. The word "nonideal" is used in the sense of compensating for off-angle occluded iris images. The system is designed to process nonideal iris images in two steps: 1) compensation for off-angle gaze direction and 2) processing and encoding of the rotated iris image. Two approaches are presented to account for angular variations in the iris images. In the first approach, we use Daugman's integrodifferential operator as an objective function to estimate the gaze direction. After the angle is estimated, the off-angle iris image undergoes geometric transformations involving the estimated angle and is further processed as if it were a frontal view image. The encoding technique developed for a frontal image is based on the application of the global independent component analysis. The second approach uses an angular deformation calibration model. The angular deformations are modeled, and calibration parameters are calculated. The proposed method consists of a closed-form solution, followed by an iterative optimization procedure. The images are projected on the plane closest to the base calibrated plane. Biorthogonal wavelets are used for encoding to perform iris recognition. We use a special dataset of the off-angle iris images to quantify the performance of the designed systems. A series of receiver operating characteristics demonstrate various effects on the performance of the nonideal-iris-based recognition system.

A post-processing system for automated rectification and registration of spaceborne SAR imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curlander, John C.; Kwok, Ronald; Pang, Shirley S.

1987-01-01

An automated post-processing system has been developed that interfaces with the raw image output of the operational digital SAR correlator. This system is designed for optimal efficiency by using advanced signal processing hardware and an algorithm that requires no operator interaction, such as the determination of ground control points. The standard output is a geocoded image product (i.e. resampled to a specified map projection). The system is capable of producing multiframe mosaics for large-scale mapping by combining images in both the along-track direction and adjacent cross-track swaths from ascending and descending passes over the same target area. The output products have absolute location uncertainty of less than 50 m and relative distortion (scale factor and skew) of less than 0.1 per cent relative to local variations from the assumed geoid.

Color matrix display simulation based upon luminance and chromatic contrast sensitivity of early vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Russel A.; Ahumada, Albert J., Jr.; Larimer, James O.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the design and operation of a new simulation model for color matrix display development. It models the physical structure, the signal processing, and the visual perception of static displays, to allow optimization of display design parameters through image quality measures. The model is simple, implemented in the Mathematica computer language, and highly modular. Signal processing modules operate on the original image. The hardware modules describe backlights and filters, the pixel shape, and the tiling of the pixels over the display. Small regions of the displayed image can be visualized on a CRT. Visual perception modules assume static foveal images. The image is converted into cone catches and then into luminance, red-green, and blue-yellow images. A Haar transform pyramid separates the three images into spatial frequency and direction-specific channels. The channels are scaled by weights taken from human contrast sensitivity measurements of chromatic and luminance mechanisms at similar frequencies and orientations. Each channel provides a detectability measure. These measures allow the comparison of images displayed on prospective devices and, by that, the optimization of display designs.

The Spectral Image Processing System (SIPS) - Interactive visualization and analysis of imaging spectrometer data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kruse, F. A.; Lefkoff, A. B.; Boardman, J. W.; Heidebrecht, K. B.; Shapiro, A. T.; Barloon, P. J.; Goetz, A. F. H.

1993-01-01

The Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, has developed a prototype interactive software system called the Spectral Image Processing System (SIPS) using IDL (the Interactive Data Language) on UNIX-based workstations. SIPS is designed to take advantage of the combination of high spectral resolution and spatial data presentation unique to imaging spectrometers. It streamlines analysis of these data by allowing scientists to rapidly interact with entire datasets. SIPS provides visualization tools for rapid exploratory analysis and numerical tools for quantitative modeling. The user interface is X-Windows-based, user friendly, and provides 'point and click' operation. SIPS is being used for multidisciplinary research concentrating on use of physically based analysis methods to enhance scientific results from imaging spectrometer data. The objective of this continuing effort is to develop operational techniques for quantitative analysis of imaging spectrometer data and to make them available to the scientific community prior to the launch of imaging spectrometer satellite systems such as the Earth Observing System (EOS) High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS).

Unified Digital Image Display And Processing System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horii, Steven C.; Maguire, Gerald Q.; Noz, Marilyn E.; Schimpf, James H.

1981-11-01

Our institution like many others, is faced with a proliferation of medical imaging techniques. Many of these methods give rise to digital images (e.g. digital radiography, computerized tomography (CT) , nuclear medicine and ultrasound). We feel that a unified, digital system approach to image management (storage, transmission and retrieval), image processing and image display will help in integrating these new modalities into the present diagnostic radiology operations. Future techniques are likely to employ digital images, so such a system could readily be expanded to include other image sources. We presently have the core of such a system. We can both view and process digital nuclear medicine (conventional gamma camera) images, positron emission tomography (PET) and CT images on a single system. Images from our recently installed digital radiographic unit can be added. Our paper describes our present system, explains the rationale for its configuration, and describes the directions in which it will expand.

X-Ray Toolkit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2015-10-20

Radiographic Image Acquisition & Processing Software for Security Markets. Used in operation of commercial x-ray scanners and manipulation of x-ray images for emergency responders including State, Local, Federal, and US Military bomb technicians and analysts.

Automated design of image operators that detect interest points.

PubMed

Trujillo, Leonardo; Olague, Gustavo

2008-01-01

This work describes how evolutionary computation can be used to synthesize low-level image operators that detect interesting points on digital images. Interest point detection is an essential part of many modern computer vision systems that solve tasks such as object recognition, stereo correspondence, and image indexing, to name but a few. The design of the specialized operators is posed as an optimization/search problem that is solved with genetic programming (GP), a strategy still mostly unexplored by the computer vision community. The proposed approach automatically synthesizes operators that are competitive with state-of-the-art designs, taking into account an operator's geometric stability and the global separability of detected points during fitness evaluation. The GP search space is defined using simple primitive operations that are commonly found in point detectors proposed by the vision community. The experiments described in this paper extend previous results (Trujillo and Olague, 2006a,b) by presenting 15 new operators that were synthesized through the GP-based search. Some of the synthesized operators can be regarded as improved manmade designs because they employ well-known image processing techniques and achieve highly competitive performance. On the other hand, since the GP search also generates what can be considered as unconventional operators for point detection, these results provide a new perspective to feature extraction research.

Information theoretic analysis of linear shift-invariant edge-detection operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Bo; Rahman, Zia-ur

2012-06-01

Generally, the designs of digital image processing algorithms and image gathering devices remain separate. Consequently, the performance of digital image processing algorithms is evaluated without taking into account the influences by the image gathering process. However, experiments show that the image gathering process has a profound impact on the performance of digital image processing and the quality of the resulting images. Huck et al. proposed one definitive theoretic analysis of visual communication channels, where the different parts, such as image gathering, processing, and display, are assessed in an integrated manner using Shannon's information theory. We perform an end-to-end information theory based system analysis to assess linear shift-invariant edge-detection algorithms. We evaluate the performance of the different algorithms as a function of the characteristics of the scene and the parameters, such as sampling, additive noise etc., that define the image gathering system. The edge-detection algorithm is regarded as having high performance only if the information rate from the scene to the edge image approaches its maximum possible. This goal can be achieved only by jointly optimizing all processes. Our information-theoretic assessment provides a new tool that allows us to compare different linear shift-invariant edge detectors in a common environment.

PIFEX: An advanced programmable pipelined-image processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gennery, D. B.; Wilcox, B.

1985-01-01

PIFEX is a pipelined-image processor being built in the JPL Robotics Lab. It will operate on digitized raster-scanned images (at 60 frames per second for images up to about 300 by 400 and at lesser rates for larger images), performing a variety of operations simultaneously under program control. It thus is a powerful, flexible tool for image processing and low-level computer vision. It also has applications in other two-dimensional problems such as route planning for obstacle avoidance and the numerical solution of two-dimensional partial differential equations (although its low numerical precision limits its use in the latter field). The concept and design of PIFEX are described herein, and some examples of its use are given.

Image processing developments and applications for water quality monitoring and trophic state determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackwell, R. J.

1982-01-01

Remote sensing data analysis of water quality monitoring is evaluated. Data anaysis and image processing techniques are applied to LANDSAT remote sensing data to produce an effective operational tool for lake water quality surveying and monitoring. Digital image processing and analysis techniques were designed, developed, tested, and applied to LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data and conventional surface acquired data. Utilization of these techniques facilitates the surveying and monitoring of large numbers of lakes in an operational manner. Supervised multispectral classification, when used in conjunction with surface acquired water quality indicators, is used to characterize water body trophic status. Unsupervised multispectral classification, when interpreted by lake scientists familiar with a specific water body, yields classifications of equal validity with supervised methods and in a more cost effective manner. Image data base technology is used to great advantage in characterizing other contributing effects to water quality. These effects include drainage basin configuration, terrain slope, soil, precipitation and land cover characteristics.

Content based image retrieval using local binary pattern operator and data mining techniques.

PubMed

Vatamanu, Oana Astrid; Frandeş, Mirela; Lungeanu, Diana; Mihalaş, Gheorghe-Ioan

2015-01-01

Content based image retrieval (CBIR) concerns the retrieval of similar images from image databases, using feature vectors extracted from images. These feature vectors globally define the visual content present in an image, defined by e.g., texture, colour, shape, and spatial relations between vectors. Herein, we propose the definition of feature vectors using the Local Binary Pattern (LBP) operator. A study was performed in order to determine the optimum LBP variant for the general definition of image feature vectors. The chosen LBP variant is then subsequently used to build an ultrasound image database, and a database with images obtained from Wireless Capsule Endoscopy. The image indexing process is optimized using data clustering techniques for images belonging to the same class. Finally, the proposed indexing method is compared to the classical indexing technique, which is nowadays widely used.

Blood pulsation measurement using cameras operating in visible light: limitations.

PubMed

Koprowski, Robert

2016-10-03

The paper presents an automatic method for analysis and processing of images from a camera operating in visible light. This analysis applies to images containing the human facial area (body) and enables to measure the blood pulse rate. Special attention was paid to the limitations of this measurement method taking into account the possibility of using consumer cameras in real conditions (different types of lighting, different camera resolution, camera movement). The proposed new method of image analysis and processing was associated with three stages: (1) image pre-processing-allowing for the image filtration and stabilization (object location tracking); (2) main image processing-allowing for segmentation of human skin areas, acquisition of brightness changes; (3) signal analysis-filtration, FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation) analysis, pulse calculation. The presented algorithm and method for measuring the pulse rate has the following advantages: (1) it allows for non-contact and non-invasive measurement; (2) it can be carried out using almost any camera, including webcams; (3) it enables to track the object on the stage, which allows for the measurement of the heart rate when the patient is moving; (4) for a minimum of 40,000 pixels, it provides a measurement error of less than ±2 beats per minute for p < 0.01 and sunlight, or a slightly larger error (±3 beats per minute) for artificial lighting; (5) analysis of a single image takes about 40 ms in Matlab Version 7.11.0.584 (R2010b) with Image Processing Toolbox Version 7.1 (R2010b).

Spectral imaging toolbox: segmentation, hyperstack reconstruction, and batch processing of spectral images for the determination of cell and model membrane lipid order.

PubMed

Aron, Miles; Browning, Richard; Carugo, Dario; Sezgin, Erdinc; Bernardino de la Serna, Jorge; Eggeling, Christian; Stride, Eleanor

2017-05-12

Spectral imaging with polarity-sensitive fluorescent probes enables the quantification of cell and model membrane physical properties, including local hydration, fluidity, and lateral lipid packing, usually characterized by the generalized polarization (GP) parameter. With the development of commercial microscopes equipped with spectral detectors, spectral imaging has become a convenient and powerful technique for measuring GP and other membrane properties. The existing tools for spectral image processing, however, are insufficient for processing the large data sets afforded by this technological advancement, and are unsuitable for processing images acquired with rapidly internalized fluorescent probes. Here we present a MATLAB spectral imaging toolbox with the aim of overcoming these limitations. In addition to common operations, such as the calculation of distributions of GP values, generation of pseudo-colored GP maps, and spectral analysis, a key highlight of this tool is reliable membrane segmentation for probes that are rapidly internalized. Furthermore, handling for hyperstacks, 3D reconstruction and batch processing facilitates analysis of data sets generated by time series, z-stack, and area scan microscope operations. Finally, the object size distribution is determined, which can provide insight into the mechanisms underlying changes in membrane properties and is desirable for e.g. studies involving model membranes and surfactant coated particles. Analysis is demonstrated for cell membranes, cell-derived vesicles, model membranes, and microbubbles with environmentally-sensitive probes Laurdan, carboxyl-modified Laurdan (C-Laurdan), Di-4-ANEPPDHQ, and Di-4-AN(F)EPPTEA (FE), for quantification of the local lateral density of lipids or lipid packing. The Spectral Imaging Toolbox is a powerful tool for the segmentation and processing of large spectral imaging datasets with a reliable method for membrane segmentation and no ability in programming required. The Spectral Imaging Toolbox can be downloaded from https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/62617-spectral-imaging-toolbox .

SAR processing using SHARC signal processing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huxtable, Barton D.; Jackson, Christopher R.; Skaron, Steve A.

1998-09-01

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is uniquely suited to help solve the Search and Rescue problem since it can be utilized either day or night and through both dense fog or thick cloud cover. Other papers in this session, and in this session in 1997, describe the various SAR image processing algorithms that are being developed and evaluated within the Search and Rescue Program. All of these approaches to using SAR data require substantial amounts of digital signal processing: for the SAR image formation, and possibly for the subsequent image processing. In recognition of the demanding processing that will be required for an operational Search and Rescue Data Processing System (SARDPS), NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA/Stennis Space Center are conducting a technology demonstration utilizing SHARC multi-chip modules from Boeing to perform SAR image formation processing.

Overview of the DART project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berry, K.R.; Hansen, F.R.; Napolitano, L.M.

1992-01-01

DART (DSP Arrary for Reconfigurable Tasks) is a parallel architecture of two high-performance SDP (digital signal processing) chips with the flexibility to handle a wide range of real-time applications. Each of the 32-bit floating-point DSP processes in DART is programmable in a high-level languate ( C'' or Ada). We have added extensions to the real-time operating system used by DART in order to support parallel processor. The combination of high-level language programmability, a real-time operating system, and parallel processing support significantly reduces the development cost of application software for signal processing and control applications. We have demonstrated this capability bymore » using DART to reconstruct images in the prototype VIP (Video Imaging Projectile) groundstation.« less

Overview of the DART project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berry, K.R.; Hansen, F.R.; Napolitano, L.M.

1992-01-01

DART (DSP Arrary for Reconfigurable Tasks) is a parallel architecture of two high-performance SDP (digital signal processing) chips with the flexibility to handle a wide range of real-time applications. Each of the 32-bit floating-point DSP processes in DART is programmable in a high-level languate (``C`` or Ada). We have added extensions to the real-time operating system used by DART in order to support parallel processor. The combination of high-level language programmability, a real-time operating system, and parallel processing support significantly reduces the development cost of application software for signal processing and control applications. We have demonstrated this capability by usingmore » DART to reconstruct images in the prototype VIP (Video Imaging Projectile) groundstation.« less

CHAMP (Camera, Handlens, and Microscope Probe)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mungas, Greg S.; Boynton, John E.; Balzer, Mark A.; Beegle, Luther; Sobel, Harold R.; Fisher, Ted; Klein, Dan; Deans, Matthew; Lee, Pascal; Sepulveda, Cesar A.

2005-01-01

CHAMP (Camera, Handlens And Microscope Probe)is a novel field microscope capable of color imaging with continuously variable spatial resolution from infinity imaging down to diffraction-limited microscopy (3 micron/pixel). As a robotic arm-mounted imager, CHAMP supports stereo imaging with variable baselines, can continuously image targets at an increasing magnification during an arm approach, can provide precision rangefinding estimates to targets, and can accommodate microscopic imaging of rough surfaces through a image filtering process called z-stacking. CHAMP was originally developed through the Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP) in support of robotic field investigations, but may also find application in new areas such as robotic in-orbit servicing and maintenance operations associated with spacecraft and human operations. We overview CHAMP'S instrument performance and basic design considerations below.

IMAGE 100: The interactive multispectral image processing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaller, E. S.; Towles, R. W.

1975-01-01

The need for rapid, cost-effective extraction of useful information from vast quantities of multispectral imagery available from aircraft or spacecraft has resulted in the design, implementation and application of a state-of-the-art processing system known as IMAGE 100. Operating on the general principle that all objects or materials possess unique spectral characteristics or signatures, the system uses this signature uniqueness to identify similar features in an image by simultaneously analyzing signatures in multiple frequency bands. Pseudo-colors, or themes, are assigned to features having identical spectral characteristics. These themes are displayed on a color CRT, and may be recorded on tape, film, or other media. The system was designed to incorporate key features such as interactive operation, user-oriented displays and controls, and rapid-response machine processing. Owing to these features, the user can readily control and/or modify the analysis process based on his knowledge of the input imagery. Effective use can be made of conventional photographic interpretation skills and state-of-the-art machine analysis techniques in the extraction of useful information from multispectral imagery. This approach results in highly accurate multitheme classification of imagery in seconds or minutes rather than the hours often involved in processing using other means.

Realization of the FPGA-based reconfigurable computing environment by the example of morphological processing of a grayscale image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shatravin, V.; Shashev, D. V.

2018-05-01

Currently, robots are increasingly being used in every industry. One of the most high-tech areas is creation of completely autonomous robotic devices including vehicles. The results of various global research prove the efficiency of vision systems in autonomous robotic devices. However, the use of these systems is limited because of the computational and energy resources available in the robot device. The paper describes the results of applying the original approach for image processing on reconfigurable computing environments by the example of morphological operations over grayscale images. This approach is prospective for realizing complex image processing algorithms and real-time image analysis in autonomous robotic devices.

Clinical image processing engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Wei; Yao, Jianhua; Chen, Jeremy; Summers, Ronald

2009-02-01

Our group provides clinical image processing services to various institutes at NIH. We develop or adapt image processing programs for a variety of applications. However, each program requires a human operator to select a specific set of images and execute the program, as well as store the results appropriately for later use. To improve efficiency, we design a parallelized clinical image processing engine (CIPE) to streamline and parallelize our service. The engine takes DICOM images from a PACS server, sorts and distributes the images to different applications, multithreads the execution of applications, and collects results from the applications. The engine consists of four modules: a listener, a router, a job manager and a data manager. A template filter in XML format is defined to specify the image specification for each application. A MySQL database is created to store and manage the incoming DICOM images and application results. The engine achieves two important goals: reduce the amount of time and manpower required to process medical images, and reduce the turnaround time for responding. We tested our engine on three different applications with 12 datasets and demonstrated that the engine improved the efficiency dramatically.

Platform for Post-Processing Waveform-Based NDE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, Don J.

2010-01-01

Signal- and image-processing methods are commonly needed to extract information from the waves, improve resolution of, and highlight defects in an image. Since some similarity exists for all waveform-based nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, it would seem that a common software platform containing multiple signal- and image-processing techniques to process the waveforms and images makes sense where multiple techniques, scientists, engineers, and organizations are involved. NDE Wave & Image Processor Version 2.0 software provides a single, integrated signal- and image-processing and analysis environment for total NDE data processing and analysis. It brings some of the most useful algorithms developed for NDE over the past 20 years into a commercial-grade product. The software can import signal/spectroscopic data, image data, and image series data. This software offers the user hundreds of basic and advanced signal- and image-processing capabilities including esoteric 1D and 2D wavelet-based de-noising, de-trending, and filtering. Batch processing is included for signal- and image-processing capability so that an optimized sequence of processing operations can be applied to entire folders of signals, spectra, and images. Additionally, an extensive interactive model-based curve-fitting facility has been included to allow fitting of spectroscopy data such as from Raman spectroscopy. An extensive joint-time frequency module is included for analysis of non-stationary or transient data such as that from acoustic emission, vibration, or earthquake data.

Proceedings of the Augmented VIsual Display (AVID) Research Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaiser, Mary K. (Editor); Sweet, Barbara T. (Editor)

1993-01-01

The papers, abstracts, and presentations were presented at a three day workshop focused on sensor modeling and simulation, and image enhancement, processing, and fusion. The technical sessions emphasized how sensor technology can be used to create visual imagery adequate for aircraft control and operations. Participants from industry, government, and academic laboratories contributed to panels on Sensor Systems, Sensor Modeling, Sensor Fusion, Image Processing (Computer and Human Vision), and Image Evaluation and Metrics.

Large-field-of-view wide-spectrum artificial reflecting superposition compound eyes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chi-Chieh

The study of the imaging principles of natural compound eyes has become an active area of research and has fueled the advancement of modern optics with many attractive design features beyond those available with conventional technologies. Most prominent among all compound eyes is the reflecting superposition compound eyes (RSCEs) found in some decapods. They are extraordinary imaging systems with numerous optical features such as minimum chromatic aberration, wide-angle field of view (FOV), high sensitivity to light and superb acuity to motion. Inspired by their remarkable visual system, we were able to implement the unique lens-free, reflection-based imaging mechanisms into a miniaturized, large-FOV optical imaging device operating at the wide visible spectrum to minimize chromatic aberration without any additional post-image processing. First, two micro-transfer printing methods, a multiple and a shear-assisted transfer printing technique, were studied and discussed to realize life-sized artificial RSCEs. The processes exploited the differential adhesive tendencies of the microstructures formed between a donor and a transfer substrate to accomplish an efficient release and transfer process. These techniques enabled conformal wrapping of three-dimensional (3-D) microstructures, initially fabricated in two-dimensional (2-D) layouts with standard fabrication technology onto a wide range of surfaces with complex and curvilinear shapes. Final part of this dissertation was focused on implementing the key operational features of the natural RSCEs into large-FOV, wide-spectrum artificial RSCEs as an optical imaging device suitable for the wide visible spectrum. Our devices can form real, clear images based on reflection rather than refraction, hence avoiding chromatic aberration due to dispersion by the optical materials. Compared to the performance of conventional refractive lenses of comparable size, our devices demonstrated minimum chromatic aberration, exceptional FOV up to 165o without distortion, modest spherical aberrations and comparable imaging quality without any post-image processing. Together with an augmenting cruciform pattern surrounding each focused image, our devices possessed enhanced, dynamic motion-tracking capability ideal for diverse applications in military, security, search and rescue, night navigation, medical imaging and astronomy. In the future, due to its reflection-based operating principles, it can be further extended into mid- and far-infrared for more demanding applications.

Development of an optical parallel logic device and a half-adder circuit for digital optical processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Athale, R. A.; Lee, S. H.

1978-01-01

The paper describes the fabrication and operation of an optical parallel logic (OPAL) device which performs Boolean algebraic operations on binary images. Several logic operations on two input binary images were demonstrated using an 8 x 8 device with a CdS photoconductor and a twisted nematic liquid crystal. Two such OPAL devices can be interconnected to form a half-adder circuit which is one of the essential components of a CPU in a digital signal processor.

Missile signal processing common computer architecture for rapid technology upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabinkin, Daniel V.; Rutledge, Edward; Monticciolo, Paul

2004-10-01

Interceptor missiles process IR images to locate an intended target and guide the interceptor towards it. Signal processing requirements have increased as the sensor bandwidth increases and interceptors operate against more sophisticated targets. A typical interceptor signal processing chain is comprised of two parts. Front-end video processing operates on all pixels of the image and performs such operations as non-uniformity correction (NUC), image stabilization, frame integration and detection. Back-end target processing, which tracks and classifies targets detected in the image, performs such algorithms as Kalman tracking, spectral feature extraction and target discrimination. In the past, video processing was implemented using ASIC components or FPGAs because computation requirements exceeded the throughput of general-purpose processors. Target processing was performed using hybrid architectures that included ASICs, DSPs and general-purpose processors. The resulting systems tended to be function-specific, and required custom software development. They were developed using non-integrated toolsets and test equipment was developed along with the processor platform. The lifespan of a system utilizing the signal processing platform often spans decades, while the specialized nature of processor hardware and software makes it difficult and costly to upgrade. As a result, the signal processing systems often run on outdated technology, algorithms are difficult to update, and system effectiveness is impaired by the inability to rapidly respond to new threats. A new design approach is made possible three developments; Moore's Law - driven improvement in computational throughput; a newly introduced vector computing capability in general purpose processors; and a modern set of open interface software standards. Today's multiprocessor commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) platforms have sufficient throughput to support interceptor signal processing requirements. This application may be programmed under existing real-time operating systems using parallel processing software libraries, resulting in highly portable code that can be rapidly migrated to new platforms as processor technology evolves. Use of standardized development tools and 3rd party software upgrades are enabled as well as rapid upgrade of processing components as improved algorithms are developed. The resulting weapon system will have a superior processing capability over a custom approach at the time of deployment as a result of a shorter development cycles and use of newer technology. The signal processing computer may be upgraded over the lifecycle of the weapon system, and can migrate between weapon system variants enabled by modification simplicity. This paper presents a reference design using the new approach that utilizes an Altivec PowerPC parallel COTS platform. It uses a VxWorks-based real-time operating system (RTOS), and application code developed using an efficient parallel vector library (PVL). A quantification of computing requirements and demonstration of interceptor algorithm operating on this real-time platform are provided.

Analysis of ROC on chest direct digital radiography (DR) after image processing in diagnosis of SARS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Guozheng; Lan, Rihui; Zeng, Qingsi; Zheng, Zhong

2004-05-01

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS, also called Infectious Atypical Pneumonia), which initially broke out in late 2002, has threatened the public"s health seriously. How to confirm the patients contracting SARS becomes an urgent issue in diagnosis. This paper intends to evaluate the importance of Image Processing in the diagnosis on SARS at the early stage. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis has been employed in this study to compare the value of DR images in the diagnosis of SARS patients before and after image processing by Symphony Software supplied by E-Com Technology Ltd., and DR image study of 72 confirmed or suspected SARS patients were reviewed respectively. All the images taken from the studied patients were processed by Symphony. Both the original and processed images were taken into ROC analysis, based on which the ROC graph for each group of images has been produced as described below: For processed images: a = 1.9745, b = 1.4275, SA = 0.8714; For original images: a = 0.9066, b = 0.8310, SA = 0.7572; (a - intercept, b - slop, SA - Area below the curve). The result shows significant difference between the original images and processed images (P<0.01). In summary, the images processed by Symphony are superior to the original ones in detecting the opacity lesion, and increases the accuracy of SARS diagnosis.

High-throughput Analysis of Large Microscopy Image Datasets on CPU-GPU Cluster Platforms

PubMed Central

Teodoro, George; Pan, Tony; Kurc, Tahsin M.; Kong, Jun; Cooper, Lee A. D.; Podhorszki, Norbert; Klasky, Scott; Saltz, Joel H.

2014-01-01

Analysis of large pathology image datasets offers significant opportunities for the investigation of disease morphology, but the resource requirements of analysis pipelines limit the scale of such studies. Motivated by a brain cancer study, we propose and evaluate a parallel image analysis application pipeline for high throughput computation of large datasets of high resolution pathology tissue images on distributed CPU-GPU platforms. To achieve efficient execution on these hybrid systems, we have built runtime support that allows us to express the cancer image analysis application as a hierarchical data processing pipeline. The application is implemented as a coarse-grain pipeline of stages, where each stage may be further partitioned into another pipeline of fine-grain operations. The fine-grain operations are efficiently managed and scheduled for computation on CPUs and GPUs using performance aware scheduling techniques along with several optimizations, including architecture aware process placement, data locality conscious task assignment, data prefetching, and asynchronous data copy. These optimizations are employed to maximize the utilization of the aggregate computing power of CPUs and GPUs and minimize data copy overheads. Our experimental evaluation shows that the cooperative use of CPUs and GPUs achieves significant improvements on top of GPU-only versions (up to 1.6×) and that the execution of the application as a set of fine-grain operations provides more opportunities for runtime optimizations and attains better performance than coarser-grain, monolithic implementations used in other works. An implementation of the cancer image analysis pipeline using the runtime support was able to process an image dataset consisting of 36,848 4Kx4K-pixel image tiles (about 1.8TB uncompressed) in less than 4 minutes (150 tiles/second) on 100 nodes of a state-of-the-art hybrid cluster system. PMID:25419546

Operational GPS Imaging System at Multiple Scales for Earth Science and Monitoring of Geohazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blewitt, Geoffrey; Hammond, William; Kreemer, Corné

2016-04-01

Toward scientific targets that range from slow deep Earth processes to geohazard rapid response, our operational GPS data analysis system produces smooth, yet detailed maps of 3-dimensional land motion with respect to our Earth's center of mass at multiple spatio-temporal scales with various latencies. "GPS Imaging" is implemented operationally as a back-end processor to our GPS data processing facility, which uses JPL's GIPSY OASIS II software to produce positions from 14,000 GPS stations in ITRF every 5 minutes, with coordinate precision that gradually improves as latency increases upward from 1 hour to 2 weeks. Our GPS Imaging system then applies sophisticated signal processing and image filtering techniques to generate images of land motion covering our Earth's continents with high levels of robustness, accuracy, spatial resolution, and temporal resolution. Techniques employed by our GPS Imaging system include: (1) similarity transformation of polyhedron coordinates to ITRF with optional common-mode filtering to enhance local transient signal to noise ratio, (2) a comprehensive database of ~100,000 potential step events based on earthquake catalogs and equipment logs, (3) an automatic, robust, and accurate non-parametric estimator of station velocity that is insensitive to prevalent step discontinuities, outliers, seasonality, and heteroscedasticity; (4) a realistic estimator of velocity error bars based on subsampling statistics; (5) image processing to create a map of land motion that is based on median spatial filtering on the Delauney triangulation, which is effective at despeckling the data while faithfully preserving edge features; (6) a velocity time series estimator to assist identification of transient behavior, such as unloading caused by drought, and (7) a method of integrating InSAR and GPS for fine-scale seamless imaging in ITRF. Our system is being used to address three main scientific focus areas, including (1) deep Earth processes, (2) anthropogenic lithospheric processes, and (3) dynamic solid Earth events. Our prototype images show that the striking, first-order signal in North America and Europe is large scale uplift and subsidence from mantle flow driven by Glacial Isostatic Adjustment. At regional scales, the images reveal that anthropogenic lithospheric processes can dominate vertical land motion in extended regions, such as the rapid subsidence of California's Central Valley (CV) exacerbated by drought. The Earth's crust is observed to rebound elastically as evidenced by uplift of surrounding mountain ranges. Images also reveal natural uplift of mountains, mantle relaxation associated with earthquakes over the last century, and uplift at plate boundaries driven by interseismic locking. Using the high-rate positions at low latency, earthquake events can be rapidly imaged, modeled, and monitored for afterslip, potential aftershocks, and subsequent deeper relaxation. Thus we are imaging deep Earth processes with unprecedented scope, resolution and accuracy. In addition to supporting these scientific focus areas, the data products are also being used to support the global reference frame (ITRF), and show potential to enhance missions such as GRACE and NISAR by providing complementary information on Earth processes.

Axial segmentation of lungs CT scan images using canny method and morphological operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noviana, Rina; Febriani, Rasal, Isram; Lubis, Eva Utari Cintamurni

2017-08-01

Segmentation is a very important topic in digital image process. It is found simply in varied fields of image analysis, particularly within the medical imaging field. Axial segmentation of lungs CT scan is beneficial in designation of abnormalities and surgery planning. It will do to ascertain every section within the lungs. The results of the segmentation are accustomed discover the presence of nodules. The method which utilized in this analysis are image cropping, image binarization, Canny edge detection and morphological operation. Image cropping is done so as to separate the lungs areas, that is the region of interest. Binarization method generates a binary image that has 2 values with grey level, that is black and white (ROI), from another space of lungs CT scan image. Canny method used for the edge detection. Morphological operation is applied to smoothing the lungs edge. The segmentation methodology shows an honest result. It obtains an awfully smooth edge. Moreover, the image background can also be removed in order to get the main focus, the lungs.

Assessment of Restoration Methods of X-Ray Images with Emphasis on Medical Photogrammetric Usage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseinian, S.; Arefi, H.

2016-06-01

Nowadays, various medical X-ray imaging methods such as digital radiography, computed tomography and fluoroscopy are used as important tools in diagnostic and operative processes especially in the computer and robotic assisted surgeries. The procedures of extracting information from these images require appropriate deblurring and denoising processes on the pre- and intra-operative images in order to obtain more accurate information. This issue becomes more considerable when the X-ray images are planned to be employed in the photogrammetric processes for 3D reconstruction from multi-view X-ray images since, accurate data should be extracted from images for 3D modelling and the quality of X-ray images affects directly on the results of the algorithms. For restoration of X-ray images, it is essential to consider the nature and characteristics of these kinds of images. X-ray images exhibit severe quantum noise due to limited X-ray photons involved. The assumptions of Gaussian modelling are not appropriate for photon-limited images such as X-ray images, because of the nature of signal-dependant quantum noise. These images are generally modelled by Poisson distribution which is the most common model for low-intensity imaging. In this paper, existing methods are evaluated. For this purpose, after demonstrating the properties of medical X-ray images, the more efficient and recommended methods for restoration of X-ray images would be described and assessed. After explaining these approaches, they are implemented on samples from different kinds of X-ray images. By considering the results, it is concluded that using PURE-LET, provides more effective and efficient denoising than other examined methods in this research.

Automatic detection of blurred images in UAV image sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sieberth, Till; Wackrow, Rene; Chandler, Jim H.

2016-12-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have become an interesting and active research topic for photogrammetry. Current research is based on images acquired by an UAV, which have a high ground resolution and good spectral and radiometrical resolution, due to the low flight altitudes combined with a high resolution camera. UAV image flights are also cost effective and have become attractive for many applications including, change detection in small scale areas. One of the main problems preventing full automation of data processing of UAV imagery is the degradation effect of blur caused by camera movement during image acquisition. This can be caused by the normal flight movement of the UAV as well as strong winds, turbulence or sudden operator inputs. This blur disturbs the visual analysis and interpretation of the data, causes errors and can degrade the accuracy in automatic photogrammetric processing algorithms. The detection and removal of these images is currently achieved manually, which is both time consuming and prone to error, particularly for large image-sets. To increase the quality of data processing an automated process is necessary, which must be both reliable and quick. This paper describes the development of an automatic filtering process, which is based upon the quantification of blur in an image. Images with known blur are processed digitally to determine a quantifiable measure of image blur. The algorithm is required to process UAV images fast and reliably to relieve the operator from detecting blurred images manually. The newly developed method makes it possible to detect blur caused by linear camera displacement and is based on human detection of blur. Humans detect blurred images best by comparing it to other images in order to establish whether an image is blurred or not. The developed algorithm simulates this procedure by creating an image for comparison using image processing. Creating internally a comparable image makes the method independent of additional images. However, the calculated blur value named SIEDS (saturation image edge difference standard-deviation) on its own does not provide an absolute number to judge if an image is blurred or not. To achieve a reliable judgement of image sharpness the SIEDS value has to be compared to other SIEDS values from the same dataset. The speed and reliability of the method was tested using a range of different UAV datasets. Two datasets will be presented in this paper to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. The algorithm proves to be fast and the returned values are optically correct, making the algorithm applicable for UAV datasets. Additionally, a close range dataset was processed to determine whether the method is also useful for close range applications. The results show that the method is also reliable for close range images, which significantly extends the field of application for the algorithm.

Fast and Accurate Cell Tracking by a Novel Optical-Digital Hybrid Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres-Cisneros, M.; Aviña-Cervantes, J. G.; Pérez-Careta, E.; Ambriz-Colín, F.; Tinoco, Verónica; Ibarra-Manzano, O. G.; Plascencia-Mora, H.; Aguilera-Gómez, E.; Ibarra-Manzano, M. A.; Guzman-Cabrera, R.; Debeir, Olivier; Sánchez-Mondragón, J. J.

2013-09-01

An innovative methodology to detect and track cells using microscope images enhanced by optical cross-correlation techniques is proposed in this paper. In order to increase the tracking sensibility, image pre-processing has been implemented as a morphological operator on the microscope image. Results show that the pre-processing process allows for additional frames of cell tracking, therefore increasing its robustness. The proposed methodology can be used in analyzing different problems such as mitosis, cell collisions, and cell overlapping, ultimately designed to identify and treat illnesses and malignancies.

Overview on METEOSAT geometrical image data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diekmann, Frank J.

1994-01-01

Digital Images acquired from the geostationary METEOSAT satellites are processed and disseminated at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Their scientific value is mainly dependent on their radiometric quality and geometric stability. This paper will give an overview on the image processing activities performed at ESOC, concentrating on the geometrical restoration and quality evaluation. The performance of the rectification process for the various satellites over the past years will be presented and the impacts of external events as for instance the Pinatubo eruption in 1991 will be explained. Special developments both in hard and software, necessary to cope with demanding tasks as new image resampling or to correct for spacecraft anomalies, are presented as well. The rotating lens of MET-5 causing severe geometrical image distortions is an example for the latter.

Research and Development of Target Recognition and Location Crawling Platform based on Binocular Vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Weidong; Lei, Zhu; Yuan, Zhang; Gao, Zhenqing

2018-03-01

The application of visual recognition technology in industrial robot crawling and placing operation is one of the key tasks in the field of robot research. In order to improve the efficiency and intelligence of the material sorting in the production line, especially to realize the sorting of the scattered items, the robot target recognition and positioning crawling platform based on binocular vision is researched and developed. The images were collected by binocular camera, and the images were pretreated. Harris operator was used to identify the corners of the images. The Canny operator was used to identify the images. Hough-chain code recognition was used to identify the images. The target image in the image, obtain the coordinates of each vertex of the image, calculate the spatial position and posture of the target item, and determine the information needed to capture the movement and transmit it to the robot control crawling operation. Finally, In this paper, we use this method to experiment the wrapping problem in the express sorting process The experimental results show that the platform can effectively solve the problem of sorting of loose parts, so as to achieve the purpose of efficient and intelligent sorting.

Automated Recognition of 3D Features in GPIR Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Han; Stough, Timothy; Fijany, Amir

2007-01-01

A method of automated recognition of three-dimensional (3D) features in images generated by ground-penetrating imaging radar (GPIR) is undergoing development. GPIR 3D images can be analyzed to detect and identify such subsurface features as pipes and other utility conduits. Until now, much of the analysis of GPIR images has been performed manually by expert operators who must visually identify and track each feature. The present method is intended to satisfy a need for more efficient and accurate analysis by means of algorithms that can automatically identify and track subsurface features, with minimal supervision by human operators. In this method, data from multiple sources (for example, data on different features extracted by different algorithms) are fused together for identifying subsurface objects. The algorithms of this method can be classified in several different ways. In one classification, the algorithms fall into three classes: (1) image-processing algorithms, (2) feature- extraction algorithms, and (3) a multiaxis data-fusion/pattern-recognition algorithm that includes a combination of machine-learning, pattern-recognition, and object-linking algorithms. The image-processing class includes preprocessing algorithms for reducing noise and enhancing target features for pattern recognition. The feature-extraction algorithms operate on preprocessed data to extract such specific features in images as two-dimensional (2D) slices of a pipe. Then the multiaxis data-fusion/ pattern-recognition algorithm identifies, classifies, and reconstructs 3D objects from the extracted features. In this process, multiple 2D features extracted by use of different algorithms and representing views along different directions are used to identify and reconstruct 3D objects. In object linking, which is an essential part of this process, features identified in successive 2D slices and located within a threshold radius of identical features in adjacent slices are linked in a directed-graph data structure. Relative to past approaches, this multiaxis approach offers the advantages of more reliable detections, better discrimination of objects, and provision of redundant information, which can be helpful in filling gaps in feature recognition by one of the component algorithms. The image-processing class also includes postprocessing algorithms that enhance identified features to prepare them for further scrutiny by human analysts (see figure). Enhancement of images as a postprocessing step is a significant departure from traditional practice, in which enhancement of images is a preprocessing step.

Method and apparatus for optical encoding with compressible imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leviton, Douglas B. (Inventor)

2006-01-01

The present invention presents an optical encoder with increased conversion rates. Improvement in the conversion rate is a result of combining changes in the pattern recognition encoder's scale pattern with an image sensor readout technique which takes full advantage of those changes, and lends itself to operation by modern, high-speed, ultra-compact microprocessors and digital signal processors (DSP) or field programmable gate array (FPGA) logic elements which can process encoder scale images at the highest speeds. Through these improvements, all three components of conversion time (reciprocal conversion rate)--namely exposure time, image readout time, and image processing time--are minimized.

Radar image enhancement and simulation as an aid to interpretation and training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, V. S.; Stiles, J. A.; Holtzman, J. C.; Dellwig, L. F.; Held, D. N.

1980-01-01

Greatly increased activity in the field of radar image applications in the coming years demands that techniques of radar image analysis, enhancement, and simulation be developed now. Since the statistical nature of radar imagery differs from that of photographic imagery, one finds that the required digital image processing algorithms (e.g., for improved viewing and feature extraction) differ from those currently existing. This paper addresses these problems and discusses work at the Remote Sensing Laboratory in image simulation and processing, especially for systems comparable to the formerly operational SEASAT synthetic aperture radar.

An Optimal Partial Differential Equations-based Stopping Criterion for Medical Image Denoising.

PubMed

Khanian, Maryam; Feizi, Awat; Davari, Ali

2014-01-01

Improving the quality of medical images at pre- and post-surgery operations are necessary for beginning and speeding up the recovery process. Partial differential equations-based models have become a powerful and well-known tool in different areas of image processing such as denoising, multiscale image analysis, edge detection and other fields of image processing and computer vision. In this paper, an algorithm for medical image denoising using anisotropic diffusion filter with a convenient stopping criterion is presented. In this regard, the current paper introduces two strategies: utilizing the efficient explicit method due to its advantages with presenting impressive software technique to effectively solve the anisotropic diffusion filter which is mathematically unstable, proposing an automatic stopping criterion, that takes into consideration just input image, as opposed to other stopping criteria, besides the quality of denoised image, easiness and time. Various medical images are examined to confirm the claim.

A real-time MTFC algorithm of space remote-sensing camera based on FPGA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Liting; Huang, Gang; Lin, Zhe

2018-01-01

A real-time MTFC algorithm of space remote-sensing camera based on FPGA was designed. The algorithm can provide real-time image processing to enhance image clarity when the remote-sensing camera running on-orbit. The image restoration algorithm adopted modular design. The MTF measurement calculation module on-orbit had the function of calculating the edge extension function, line extension function, ESF difference operation, normalization MTF and MTFC parameters. The MTFC image filtering and noise suppression had the function of filtering algorithm and effectively suppressing the noise. The algorithm used System Generator to design the image processing algorithms to simplify the design structure of system and the process redesign. The image gray gradient dot sharpness edge contrast and median-high frequency were enhanced. The image SNR after recovery reduced less than 1 dB compared to the original image. The image restoration system can be widely used in various fields.

Application of LANDSAT data and digital image processing. [Ruhr Valley, Germany

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bodechtel, J. (Principal Investigator)

1978-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Based on LANDSAT 1 and 2 data, applications in the fields of coal mining, lignite exploration, and thematic mapping in geology are demonstrated. The hybrid image processing system, its software, and its utilization for educational purposes is described. A pre-operational European satellite is proposed.

Modeling a color-rendering operator for high dynamic range images using a cone-response function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Ho-Hyoung; Kim, Gi-Seok; Yun, Byoung-Ju

2015-09-01

Tone-mapping operators are the typical algorithms designed to produce visibility and the overall impression of brightness, contrast, and color of high dynamic range (HDR) images on low dynamic range (LDR) display devices. Although several new tone-mapping operators have been proposed in recent years, the results of these operators have not matched those of the psychophysical experiments based on the human visual system. A color-rendering model that is a combination of tone-mapping and cone-response functions using an XYZ tristimulus color space is presented. In the proposed method, the tone-mapping operator produces visibility and the overall impression of brightness, contrast, and color in HDR images when mapped onto relatively LDR devices. The tone-mapping resultant image is obtained using chromatic and achromatic colors to avoid well-known color distortions shown in the conventional methods. The resulting image is then processed with a cone-response function wherein emphasis is placed on human visual perception (HVP). The proposed method covers the mismatch between the actual scene and the rendered image based on HVP. The experimental results show that the proposed method yields an improved color-rendering performance compared to conventional methods.

Understanding Physiological and Degenerative Natural Vision Mechanisms to Define Contrast and Contour Operators

PubMed Central

Demongeot, Jacques; Fouquet, Yannick; Tayyab, Muhammad; Vuillerme, Nicolas

2009-01-01

Background Dynamical systems like neural networks based on lateral inhibition have a large field of applications in image processing, robotics and morphogenesis modeling. In this paper, we will propose some examples of dynamical flows used in image contrasting and contouring. Methodology First we present the physiological basis of the retina function by showing the role of the lateral inhibition in the optical illusions and pathologic processes generation. Then, based on these biological considerations about the real vision mechanisms, we study an enhancement method for contrasting medical images, using either a discrete neural network approach, or its continuous version, i.e. a non-isotropic diffusion reaction partial differential system. Following this, we introduce other continuous operators based on similar biomimetic approaches: a chemotactic contrasting method, a viability contouring algorithm and an attentional focus operator. Then, we introduce the new notion of mixed potential Hamiltonian flows; we compare it with the watershed method and we use it for contouring. Conclusions We conclude by showing the utility of these biomimetic methods with some examples of application in medical imaging and computed assisted surgery. PMID:19547712

Optronic System Imaging Simulator (OSIS): imager simulation tool of the ECOMOS project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wegner, D.; Repasi, E.

2018-04-01

ECOMOS is a multinational effort within the framework of an EDA Project Arrangement. Its aim is to provide a generally accepted and harmonized European computer model for computing nominal Target Acquisition (TA) ranges of optronic imagers operating in the Visible or thermal Infrared (IR). The project involves close co-operation of defense and security industry and public research institutes from France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden. ECOMOS uses two approaches to calculate Target Acquisition (TA) ranges, the analytical TRM4 model and the image-based Triangle Orientation Discrimination model (TOD). In this paper the IR imager simulation tool, Optronic System Imaging Simulator (OSIS), is presented. It produces virtual camera imagery required by the TOD approach. Pristine imagery is degraded by various effects caused by atmospheric attenuation, optics, detector footprint, sampling, fixed pattern noise, temporal noise and digital signal processing. Resulting images might be presented to observers or could be further processed for automatic image quality calculations. For convenience OSIS incorporates camera descriptions and intermediate results provided by TRM4. For input OSIS uses pristine imagery tied with meta information about scene content, its physical dimensions, and gray level interpretation. These images represent planar targets placed at specified distances to the imager. Furthermore, OSIS is extended by a plugin functionality that enables integration of advanced digital signal processing techniques in ECOMOS such as compression, local contrast enhancement, digital turbulence mitiga- tion, to name but a few. By means of this image-based approach image degradations and image enhancements can be investigated, which goes beyond the scope of the analytical TRM4 model.

[Application of 3D virtual reality technology with multi-modality fusion in resection of glioma located in central sulcus region].

PubMed

Chen, T N; Yin, X T; Li, X G; Zhao, J; Wang, L; Mu, N; Ma, K; Huo, K; Liu, D; Gao, B Y; Feng, H; Li, F

2018-05-08

Objective: To explore the clinical and teaching application value of virtual reality technology in preoperative planning and intraoperative guide of glioma located in central sulcus region. Method: Ten patients with glioma in the central sulcus region were proposed to surgical treatment. The neuro-imaging data, including CT, CTA, DSA, MRI, fMRI were input to 3dgo sczhry workstation for image fusion and 3D reconstruction. Spatial relationships between the lesions and the surrounding structures on the virtual reality image were obtained. These images were applied to the operative approach design, operation process simulation, intraoperative auxiliary decision and the training of specialist physician. Results: Intraoperative founding of 10 patients were highly consistent with preoperative simulation with virtual reality technology. Preoperative 3D reconstruction virtual reality images improved the feasibility of operation planning and operation accuracy. This technology had not only shown the advantages for neurological function protection and lesion resection during surgery, but also improved the training efficiency and effectiveness of dedicated physician by turning the abstract comprehension to virtual reality. Conclusion: Image fusion and 3D reconstruction based virtual reality technology in glioma resection is helpful for formulating the operation plan, improving the operation safety, increasing the total resection rate, and facilitating the teaching and training of the specialist physician.

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Physical Properties of Advanced GaAs/AlGaAs Junctions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menkara, Hicham M.

1996-01-01

Extensive studies have been performed on MQW junctions and structures because of their potential applications as avalanche photodetectors in optical communications and imaging systems. The role of the avalanche photodiode is to provide for the conversion of an optical signal into charge. Knowledge of junction physics, and the various carrier generation/recombination mechanisms, is crucial for effectively optimizing the conversion process and increasing the structure's quantum efficiency. In addition, the recent interest in the use of APDs in imaging systems has necessitated the development of semiconductor junctions with low dark currents and high gains for low light applications. Because of the high frame rate and high pixel density requirements in new imaging applications, it is necessary to provide some front-end gain in the imager to allow operation under reasonable light conditions. Understanding the electron/hole impact ionization process, as well as diffusion and surface leakage effects, is needed to help maintain low dark currents and high gains for such applications. In addition, the APD must be capable of operating with low power, and low noise. Knowledge of the effects of various doping configurations and electric field profiles, as well as the excess noise resulting from the avalanche process, are needed to help maintain low operating bias and minimize the noise output.

Principal curve detection in complicated graph images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuncai; Huang, Thomas S.

2001-09-01

Finding principal curves in an image is an important low level processing in computer vision and pattern recognition. Principal curves are those curves in an image that represent boundaries or contours of objects of interest. In general, a principal curve should be smooth with certain length constraint and allow either smooth or sharp turning. In this paper, we present a method that can efficiently detect principal curves in complicated map images. For a given feature image, obtained from edge detection of an intensity image or thinning operation of a pictorial map image, the feature image is first converted to a graph representation. In graph image domain, the operation of principal curve detection is performed to identify useful image features. The shortest path and directional deviation schemes are used in our algorithm os principal verve detection, which is proven to be very efficient working with real graph images.

Improved JPEG anti-forensics with better image visual quality and forensic undetectability.

PubMed

Singh, Gurinder; Singh, Kulbir

2017-08-01

There is an immediate need to validate the authenticity of digital images due to the availability of powerful image processing tools that can easily manipulate the digital image information without leaving any traces. The digital image forensics most often employs the tampering detectors based on JPEG compression. Therefore, to evaluate the competency of the JPEG forensic detectors, an anti-forensic technique is required. In this paper, two improved JPEG anti-forensic techniques are proposed to remove the blocking artifacts left by the JPEG compression in both spatial and DCT domain. In the proposed framework, the grainy noise left by the perceptual histogram smoothing in DCT domain can be reduced significantly by applying the proposed de-noising operation. Two types of denoising algorithms are proposed, one is based on the constrained minimization problem of total variation of energy and other on the normalized weighted function. Subsequently, an improved TV based deblocking operation is proposed to eliminate the blocking artifacts in the spatial domain. Then, a decalibration operation is applied to bring the processed image statistics back to its standard position. The experimental results show that the proposed anti-forensic approaches outperform the existing state-of-the-art techniques in achieving enhanced tradeoff between image visual quality and forensic undetectability, but with high computational cost. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pleiades image quality: from users' needs to products definition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubik, Philippe; Pascal, Véronique; Latry, Christophe; Baillarin, Simon

2005-10-01

Pleiades is the highest resolution civilian earth observing system ever developed in Europe. This imagery programme is conducted by the French National Space Agency, CNES. It will operate in 2008-2009 two agile satellites designed to provide optical images to civilian and defence users. Images will be simultaneously acquired in Panchromatic (PA) and multispectral (XS) mode, which allows, in Nadir acquisition condition, to deliver 20 km wide, false or natural colored scenes with a 70 cm ground sampling distance after PA+XS fusion. Imaging capabilities have been highly optimized in order to acquire along-track mosaics, stereo pairs and triplets, and multi-targets. To fulfill the operational requirements and ensure quick access to information, ground processing has to automatically perform the radiometrical and geometrical corrections. Since ground processing capabilities have been taken into account very early in the programme development, it has been possible to relax some costly on-board components requirements, in order to achieve a cost effective on-board/ground compromise. Starting from an overview of the system characteristics, this paper deals with the image products definition (raw level, perfect sensor, orthoimage and along-track orthomosaics), and the main processing steps. It shows how each system performance is a result of the satellite performance followed by an appropriate ground processing. Finally, it focuses on the radiometrical performances of final products which are intimately linked to the following processing steps : radiometrical corrections, PA restoration, image resampling and PAN-sharpening.

Segmentation and learning in the quantitative analysis of microscopy images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruggiero, Christy; Ross, Amy; Porter, Reid

2015-02-01

In material science and bio-medical domains the quantity and quality of microscopy images is rapidly increasing and there is a great need to automatically detect, delineate and quantify particles, grains, cells, neurons and other functional "objects" within these images. These are challenging problems for image processing because of the variability in object appearance that inevitably arises in real world image acquisition and analysis. One of the most promising (and practical) ways to address these challenges is interactive image segmentation. These algorithms are designed to incorporate input from a human operator to tailor the segmentation method to the image at hand. Interactive image segmentation is now a key tool in a wide range of applications in microscopy and elsewhere. Historically, interactive image segmentation algorithms have tailored segmentation on an image-by-image basis, and information derived from operator input is not transferred between images. But recently there has been increasing interest to use machine learning in segmentation to provide interactive tools that accumulate and learn from the operator input over longer periods of time. These new learning algorithms reduce the need for operator input over time, and can potentially provide a more dynamic balance between customization and automation for different applications. This paper reviews the state of the art in this area, provides a unified view of these algorithms, and compares the segmentation performance of various design choices.

A novel configurable VLSI architecture design of window-based image processing method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Hui; Sang, Hongshi; Shen, Xubang

2018-03-01

Most window-based image processing architecture can only achieve a certain kind of specific algorithms, such as 2D convolution, and therefore lack the flexibility and breadth of application. In addition, improper handling of the image boundary can cause loss of accuracy, or consume more logic resources. For the above problems, this paper proposes a new VLSI architecture of window-based image processing operations, which is configurable and based on consideration of the image boundary. An efficient technique is explored to manage the image borders by overlapping and flushing phases at the end of row and the end of frame, which does not produce new delay and reduce the overhead in real-time applications. Maximize the reuse of the on-chip memory data, in order to reduce the hardware complexity and external bandwidth requirements. To perform different scalar function and reduction function operations in pipeline, this can support a variety of applications of window-based image processing. Compared with the performance of other reported structures, the performance of the new structure has some similarities to some of the structures, but also superior to some other structures. Especially when compared with a systolic array processor CWP, this structure at the same frequency of approximately 12.9% of the speed increases. The proposed parallel VLSI architecture was implemented with SIMC 0.18-μm CMOS technology, and the maximum clock frequency, power consumption, and area are 125Mhz, 57mW, 104.8K Gates, respectively, furthermore the processing time is independent of the different window-based algorithms mapped to the structure

Mars Orbiter Camera Views the 'Face on Mars' - Comparison with Viking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning (5 April 1998 12:39 AM PST), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully acquired a high resolution image of the 'Face on Mars' feature in the Cydonia region. The image was transmitted to Earth on Sunday, and retrieved from the mission computer data base Monday morning (6 April 1998). The image was processed at the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) facility 9:15 AM and the raw image immediately transferred to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for release to the Internet. The images shown here were subsequently processed at MSSS.

The picture was acquired 375 seconds after the spacecraft's 220th close approach to Mars. At that time, the 'Face', located at approximately 40.8o N, 9.6o W, was 275 miles (444 km) from the spacecraft. The 'morning' sun was 25o above the horizon. The picture has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's. The full image covers an area 2.7 miles (4.4 km) wide and 25.7 miles (41.5 km) long.

In this comparison, the best Viking image has been enlarged to 3.3 times its original resolution, and the MOC image has been decreased by a similar 3.3 times, creating images of roughly the same size. In addition, the MOC images have been geometrically transformed to a more overhead projection (different from the mercator map projection of PIA01440 & 1441) for ease of comparison with the Viking image. The left image is a portion of Viking Orbiter 1 frame 070A13, the middle image is a portion of MOC frame shown normally, and the right image is the same MOC frame but with the brightness inverted to simulate the approximate lighting conditions of the Viking image.

Processing Image processing has been applied to the images in order to improve the visibility of features. This processing included the following steps:

The image was processed to remove the sensitivity differences between adjacent picture elements (calibrated). This removes the vertical streaking.

The contrast and brightness of the image was adjusted, and 'filters' were applied to enhance detail at several scales.

The image was then geometrically warped to meet the computed position information for a mercator-type map. This corrected for the left-right flip, and the non-vertical viewing angle (about 45o from vertical), but also introduced some vertical 'elongation' of the image for the same reason Greenland looks larger than Africa on a mercator map of the Earth.

A section of the image, containing the 'Face' and a couple of nearly impact craters and hills, was 'cut' out of the full image and reproduced separately.

See PIA01440-1442 for additional processing steps. Also see PIA01236 for the raw image.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Ongoing quality control in digital radiography: Report of AAPM Imaging Physics Committee Task Group 151.

PubMed

Jones, A Kyle; Heintz, Philip; Geiser, William; Goldman, Lee; Jerjian, Khachig; Martin, Melissa; Peck, Donald; Pfeiffer, Douglas; Ranger, Nicole; Yorkston, John

2015-11-01

Quality control (QC) in medical imaging is an ongoing process and not just a series of infrequent evaluations of medical imaging equipment. The QC process involves designing and implementing a QC program, collecting and analyzing data, investigating results that are outside the acceptance levels for the QC program, and taking corrective action to bring these results back to an acceptable level. The QC process involves key personnel in the imaging department, including the radiologist, radiologic technologist, and the qualified medical physicist (QMP). The QMP performs detailed equipment evaluations and helps with oversight of the QC program, the radiologic technologist is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the QC program. The continued need for ongoing QC in digital radiography has been highlighted in the scientific literature. The charge of this task group was to recommend consistency tests designed to be performed by a medical physicist or a radiologic technologist under the direction of a medical physicist to identify problems with an imaging system that need further evaluation by a medical physicist, including a fault tree to define actions that need to be taken when certain fault conditions are identified. The focus of this final report is the ongoing QC process, including rejected image analysis, exposure analysis, and artifact identification. These QC tasks are vital for the optimal operation of a department performing digital radiography.

Ongoing quality control in digital radiography: Report of AAPM Imaging Physics Committee Task Group 151

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, A. Kyle, E-mail: kyle.jones@mdanderson.org; Geiser, William; Heintz, Philip

Quality control (QC) in medical imaging is an ongoing process and not just a series of infrequent evaluations of medical imaging equipment. The QC process involves designing and implementing a QC program, collecting and analyzing data, investigating results that are outside the acceptance levels for the QC program, and taking corrective action to bring these results back to an acceptable level. The QC process involves key personnel in the imaging department, including the radiologist, radiologic technologist, and the qualified medical physicist (QMP). The QMP performs detailed equipment evaluations and helps with oversight of the QC program, the radiologic technologist ismore » responsible for the day-to-day operation of the QC program. The continued need for ongoing QC in digital radiography has been highlighted in the scientific literature. The charge of this task group was to recommend consistency tests designed to be performed by a medical physicist or a radiologic technologist under the direction of a medical physicist to identify problems with an imaging system that need further evaluation by a medical physicist, including a fault tree to define actions that need to be taken when certain fault conditions are identified. The focus of this final report is the ongoing QC process, including rejected image analysis, exposure analysis, and artifact identification. These QC tasks are vital for the optimal operation of a department performing digital radiography.« less

Visually enhanced CCTV digital surveillance utilizing Intranet and Internet.

PubMed

Ozaki, Nobuyuki

2002-07-01

This paper describes a solution for integrated plant supervision utilizing closed circuit television (CCTV) digital surveillance. Three basic requirements are first addressed as the platform of the system, with discussion on the suitable video compression. The system configuration is described in blocks. The system provides surveillance functionality: real-time monitoring, and process analysis functionality: a troubleshooting tool. This paper describes the formulation of practical performance design for determining various encoder parameters. It also introduces image processing techniques for enhancing the original CCTV digital image to lessen the burden on operators. Some screenshots are listed for the surveillance functionality. For the process analysis, an image searching filter supported by image processing techniques is explained with screenshots. Multimedia surveillance, which is the merger with process data surveillance, or the SCADA system, is also explained.

HALO: a reconfigurable image enhancement and multisensor fusion system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, F.; Hickman, D. L.; Parker, Steve J.

2014-06-01

Contemporary high definition (HD) cameras and affordable infrared (IR) imagers are set to dramatically improve the effectiveness of security, surveillance and military vision systems. However, the quality of imagery is often compromised by camera shake, or poor scene visibility due to inadequate illumination or bad atmospheric conditions. A versatile vision processing system called HALO™ is presented that can address these issues, by providing flexible image processing functionality on a low size, weight and power (SWaP) platform. Example processing functions include video distortion correction, stabilisation, multi-sensor fusion and image contrast enhancement (ICE). The system is based around an all-programmable system-on-a-chip (SoC), which combines the computational power of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) with the flexibility of a CPU. The FPGA accelerates computationally intensive real-time processes, whereas the CPU provides management and decision making functions that can automatically reconfigure the platform based on user input and scene content. These capabilities enable a HALO™ equipped reconnaissance or surveillance system to operate in poor visibility, providing potentially critical operational advantages in visually complex and challenging usage scenarios. The choice of an FPGA based SoC is discussed, and the HALO™ architecture and its implementation are described. The capabilities of image distortion correction, stabilisation, fusion and ICE are illustrated using laboratory and trials data.

An image processing approach to analyze morphological features of microscopic images of muscle fibers.

PubMed

Comin, Cesar Henrique; Xu, Xiaoyin; Wang, Yaming; Costa, Luciano da Fontoura; Yang, Zhong

2014-12-01

We present an image processing approach to automatically analyze duo-channel microscopic images of muscular fiber nuclei and cytoplasm. Nuclei and cytoplasm play a critical role in determining the health and functioning of muscular fibers as changes of nuclei and cytoplasm manifest in many diseases such as muscular dystrophy and hypertrophy. Quantitative evaluation of muscle fiber nuclei and cytoplasm thus is of great importance to researchers in musculoskeletal studies. The proposed computational approach consists of steps of image processing to segment and delineate cytoplasm and identify nuclei in two-channel images. Morphological operations like skeletonization is applied to extract the length of cytoplasm for quantification. We tested the approach on real images and found that it can achieve high accuracy, objectivity, and robustness. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Applying a visual language for image processing as a graphical teaching tool in medical imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birchman, James J.; Tanimoto, Steven L.; Rowberg, Alan H.; Choi, Hyung-Sik; Kim, Yongmin

1992-05-01

Typical user interaction in image processing is with command line entries, pull-down menus, or text menu selections from a list, and as such is not generally graphical in nature. Although applying these interactive methods to construct more sophisticated algorithms from a series of simple image processing steps may be clear to engineers and programmers, it may not be clear to clinicians. A solution to this problem is to implement a visual programming language using visual representations to express image processing algorithms. Visual representations promote a more natural and rapid understanding of image processing algorithms by providing more visual insight into what the algorithms do than the interactive methods mentioned above can provide. Individuals accustomed to dealing with images will be more likely to understand an algorithm that is represented visually. This is especially true of referring physicians, such as surgeons in an intensive care unit. With the increasing acceptance of picture archiving and communications system (PACS) workstations and the trend toward increasing clinical use of image processing, referring physicians will need to learn more sophisticated concepts than simply image access and display. If the procedures that they perform commonly, such as window width and window level adjustment and image enhancement using unsharp masking, are depicted visually in an interactive environment, it will be easier for them to learn and apply these concepts. The software described in this paper is a visual programming language for imaging processing which has been implemented on the NeXT computer using NeXTstep user interface development tools and other tools in an object-oriented environment. The concept is based upon the description of a visual language titled `Visualization of Vision Algorithms' (VIVA). Iconic representations of simple image processing steps are placed into a workbench screen and connected together into a dataflow path by the user. As the user creates and edits a dataflow path, more complex algorithms can be built on the screen. Once the algorithm is built, it can be executed, its results can be reviewed, and operator parameters can be interactively adjusted until an optimized output is produced. The optimized algorithm can then be saved and added to the system as a new operator. This system has been evaluated as a graphical teaching tool for window width and window level adjustment, image enhancement using unsharp masking, and other techniques.

A Novel Method for Block Size Forensics Based on Morphological Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Weiqi; Huang, Jiwu; Qiu, Guoping

Passive forensics analysis aims to find out how multimedia data is acquired and processed without relying on pre-embedded or pre-registered information. Since most existing compression schemes for digital images are based on block processing, one of the fundamental steps for subsequent forensics analysis is to detect the presence of block artifacts and estimate the block size for a given image. In this paper, we propose a novel method for blind block size estimation. A 2×2 cross-differential filter is first applied to detect all possible block artifact boundaries, morphological operations are then used to remove the boundary effects caused by the edges of the actual image contents, and finally maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) is employed to estimate the block size. The experimental results evaluated on over 1300 nature images show the effectiveness of our proposed method. Compared with existing gradient-based detection method, our method achieves over 39% accuracy improvement on average.

A Software Platform for Post-Processing Waveform-Based NDE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, Donald J.; Martin, Richard E.; Seebo, Jeff P.; Trinh, Long B.; Walker, James L.; Winfree, William P.

2007-01-01

Ultrasonic, microwave, and terahertz nondestructive evaluation imaging systems generally require the acquisition of waveforms at each scan point to form an image. For such systems, signal and image processing methods are commonly needed to extract information from the waves and improve resolution of, and highlight, defects in the image. Since some similarity exists for all waveform-based NDE methods, it would seem a common software platform containing multiple signal and image processing techniques to process the waveforms and images makes sense where multiple techniques, scientists, engineers, and organizations are involved. This presentation describes NASA Glenn Research Center's approach in developing a common software platform for processing waveform-based NDE signals and images. This platform is currently in use at NASA Glenn and at Lockheed Martin Michoud Assembly Facility for processing of pulsed terahertz and ultrasonic data. Highlights of the software operation will be given. A case study will be shown for use with terahertz data. The authors also request scientists and engineers who are interested in sharing customized signal and image processing algorithms to contribute to this effort by letting the authors code up and include these algorithms in future releases.

UWGSP7: a real-time optical imaging workstation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bush, John E.; Kim, Yongmin; Pennington, Stan D.; Alleman, Andrew P.

1995-04-01

With the development of UWGSP7, the University of Washington Image Computing Systems Laboratory has a real-time workstation for continuous-wave (cw) optical reflectance imaging. Recent discoveries in optical science and imaging research have suggested potential practical use of the technology as a medical imaging modality and identified the need for a machine to support these applications in real time. The UWGSP7 system was developed to provide researchers with a high-performance, versatile tool for use in optical imaging experiments with the eventual goal of bringing the technology into clinical use. One of several major applications of cw optical reflectance imaging is tumor imaging which uses a light-absorbing dye that preferentially sequesters in tumor tissue. This property could be used to locate tumors and to identify tumor margins intraoperatively. Cw optical reflectance imaging consists of illumination of a target with a band-limited light source and monitoring the light transmitted by or reflected from the target. While continuously illuminating the target, a control image is acquired and stored. A dye is injected into a subject and a sequence of data images are acquired and processed. The data images are aligned with the control image and then subtracted to obtain a signal representing the change in optical reflectance over time. This signal can be enhanced by digital image processing and displayed in pseudo-color. This type of emerging imaging technique requires a computer system that is versatile and adaptable. The UWGSP7 utilizes a VESA local bus PC as a host computer running the Windows NT operating system and includes ICSL developed add-on boards for image acquisition and processing. The image acquisition board is used to digitize and format the analog signal from the input device into digital frames and to the average frames into images. To accommodate different input devices, the camera interface circuitry is designed in a small mezzanine board that supports the RS-170 standard. The image acquisition board is connected to the image- processing board using a direct connect port which provides a 66 Mbytes/s channel independent of the system bus. The image processing board utilizes the Texas Instruments TMS320C80 Multimedia Video Processor chip. This chip is capable of 2 billion operations per second providing the UWGSP7 with the capability to perform real-time image processing functions like median filtering, convolution and contrast enhancement. This processing power allows interactive analysis of the experiments as compared to current practice of off-line processing and analysis. Due to its flexibility and programmability, the UWGSP7 can be adapted into various research needs in intraoperative optical imaging.

Shoulder Arthroplasty Imaging: What’s New

PubMed Central

Gregory, T.M

2017-01-01

Background: Shoulder arthroplasty, in its different forms (hemiarthroplasty, total shoulder arthroplasty and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty) has transformed the clinical outcomes of shoulder disorders. Improvement of general clinical outcome is the result of stronger adequacy of the treatment to the diagnosis, enhanced surgical techniques, specific implanted materials, and more accurate follow up. Imaging is an important tool in each step of these processes. Method: This article is a review article declining recent imaging processes for shoulder arthroplasty. Results: Shoulder imaging is important for shoulder arthroplasty pre-operative planning but also for post-operative monitoring of the prosthesis and this article has a focus on the validity of plain radiographs for detecting radiolucent line and on new Computed Tomography scan method established to eliminate the prosthesis metallic artefacts that obscure the component fixation visualisation. Conclusion: Number of shoulder arthroplasties implanted have grown up rapidly for the past decade, leading to an increase in the number of complications. In parallel, new imaging system have been established to monitor these complications, especially component loosening PMID:29152007

Morphological rational operator for contrast enhancement.

PubMed

Peregrina-Barreto, Hayde; Herrera-Navarro, Ana M; Morales-Hernández, Luis A; Terol-Villalobos, Iván R

2011-03-01

Contrast enhancement is an important task in image processing that is commonly used as a preprocessing step to improve the images for other tasks such as segmentation. However, some methods for contrast improvement that work well in low-contrast regions affect good contrast regions as well. This occurs due to the fact that some elements may vanish. A method focused on images with different luminance conditions is introduced in the present work. The proposed method is based on morphological transformations by reconstruction and rational operations, which, altogether, allow a more accurate contrast enhancement resulting in regions that are in harmony with their environment. Furthermore, due to the properties of these morphological transformations, the creation of new elements on the image is avoided. The processing is carried out on luminance values in the u'v'Y color space, which avoids the creation of new colors. As a result of the previous considerations, the proposed method keeps the natural color appearance of the image.

Toshiba TDF-500 High Resolution Viewing And Analysis System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberts, Barry; Kakegawa, M.; Nishikawa, M.; Oikawa, D.

1988-06-01

A high resolution, operator interactive, medical viewing and analysis system has been developed by Toshiba and Bio-Imaging Research. This system provides many advanced features including high resolution displays, a very large image memory and advanced image processing capability. In particular, the system provides CRT frame buffers capable of update in one frame period, an array processor capable of image processing at operator interactive speeds, and a memory system capable of updating multiple frame buffers at frame rates whilst supporting multiple array processors. The display system provides 1024 x 1536 display resolution at 40Hz frame and 80Hz field rates. In particular, the ability to provide whole or partial update of the screen at the scanning rate is a key feature. This allows multiple viewports or windows in the display buffer with both fixed and cine capability. To support image processing features such as windowing, pan, zoom, minification, filtering, ROI analysis, multiplanar and 3D reconstruction, a high performance CPU is integrated into the system. This CPU is an array processor capable of up to 400 million instructions per second. To support the multiple viewer and array processors' instantaneous high memory bandwidth requirement, an ultra fast memory system is used. This memory system has a bandwidth capability of 400MB/sec and a total capacity of 256MB. This bandwidth is more than adequate to support several high resolution CRT's and also the fast processing unit. This fully integrated approach allows effective real time image processing. The integrated design of viewing system, memory system and array processor are key to the imaging system. It is the intention to describe the architecture of the image system in this paper.

Sentinel-2 for rapid operational landslide inventory mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stumpf, André; Marc, Odin; Malet, Jean-Philippe; Michea, David

2017-04-01

Landslide inventory mapping after major triggering events such as heavy rainfalls or earthquakes is crucial for disaster response, the assessment of hazards, and the quantification of sediment budgets and empirical scaling laws. Numerous studies have already demonstrated the utility of very-high resolution satellite and aerial images for the elaboration of inventories based on semi-automatic methods or visual image interpretation. Nevertheless, such semi-automatic methods are rarely used in an operational context after major triggering events; this is partly due to access limitations on the required input datasets (i.e. VHR satellite images) and to the absence of dedicated services (i.e. processing chain) available for the landslide community. Several on-going initiatives allow to overcome these limitations. First, from a data perspective, the launch of the Sentinel-2 mission offers opportunities for the design of an operational service that can be deployed for landslide inventory mapping at any time and everywhere on the globe. Second, from an implementation perspective, the Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP) of the European Space Agency (ESA) allows the integration and diffusion of on-line processing algorithms in a high computing performance environment. Third, from a community perspective, the recently launched Landslide Pilot of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), has targeted the take-off of such service as a main objective for the landslide community. Within this context, this study targets the development of a largely automatic, supervised image processing chain for landslide inventory mapping from bi-temporal (before and after a given event) Sentinel-2 optical images. The processing chain combines change detection methods, image segmentation, higher-level image features (e.g. texture, shape) and topographic variables. Based on a few representative examples provided by a human operator, a machine learning model is trained and subsequently used to distinguish newly triggered landslides from other landscape elements. The final map product is provided along with an uncertainty map that allows identifying areas which might require further considerations. The processing chain is tested for two recent and contrasted triggering events in New Zealand and Taiwan. A Mw 7.8 earthquake in New Zealand in November 2016 triggered tens of thousands of landslides in a complex environment, with important textural variations with elevations, due to vegetation change and snow cover. In contrast a large but unexceptional typhoon in July 2016 in Taiwan triggered a moderate amount of relatively small landslides in a lushly vegetated, more homogenous terrain. Based on the obtained results we discuss the potential and limitations of Sentinel-2 bi-temporal images and time-series for operational landslide inventory mapping This work is part of the General Studies Program (GSP) ALCANTARA of ESA.

Optical Processing of Speckle Images with Bacteriorhodopsin for Pattern Recognition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Downie, John D.; Tucker, Deanne (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Logarithmic processing of images with multiplicative noise characteristics can be utilized to transform the image into one with an additive noise distribution. This simplifies subsequent image processing steps for applications such as image restoration or correlation for pattern recognition. One particularly common form of multiplicative noise is speckle, for which the logarithmic operation not only produces additive noise, but also makes it of constant variance (signal-independent). We examine the optical transmission properties of some bacteriorhodopsin films here and find them well suited to implement such a pointwise logarithmic transformation optically in a parallel fashion. We present experimental results of the optical conversion of speckle images into transformed images with additive, signal-independent noise statistics using the real-time photochromic properties of bacteriorhodopsin. We provide an example of improved correlation performance in terms of correlation peak signal-to-noise for such a transformed speckle image.

Picosecond imaging of signal propagation in integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frohmann, Sven; Dietz, Enrico; Dittrich, Helmar; Hübers, Heinz-Wilhelm

2017-04-01

Optical analysis of integrated circuits (IC) is a powerful tool for analyzing security functions that are implemented in an IC. We present a photon emission microscope for picosecond imaging of hot carrier luminescence in ICs in the near-infrared spectral range from 900 to 1700 nm. It allows for a semi-invasive signal tracking in fully operational ICs on the gate or transistor level with a timing precision of approximately 6 ps. The capabilities of the microscope are demonstrated by imaging the operation of two ICs made by 180 and 60 nm process technology.

Data Processing for the Space-Based Desis Hyperspectral Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carmona, E.; Avbelj, J.; Alonso, K.; Bachmann, M.; Cerra, D.; Eckardt, A.; Gerasch, B.; Graham, L.; Günther, B.; Heiden, U.; Kerr, G.; Knodt, U.; Krutz, D.; Krawcyk, H.; Makarau, A.; Miller, R.; Müller, R.; Perkins, R.; Walter, I.

2017-05-01

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) have established a collaboration to develop and operate a new space-based hyperspectral sensor, the DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS). DESIS will provide spacebased hyperspectral data in the VNIR with high spectral resolution and near-global coverage. While TBE provides the platform and infrastructure for operation of the DESIS instrument on the International Space Station, DLR is responsible for providing the instrument and the processing software. The DESIS instrument is equipped with novel characteristics for an imaging spectrometer such high spectral resolution (2.55 nm), a mirror pointing unit or a CMOS sensor operated in rolling shutter mode. We present here an overview of the DESIS instrument and its processing chain, emphasizing the effect of the novel characteristics of DESIS in the data processing and final data products. Furthermore, we analyse in more detail the effect of the rolling shutter on the DESIS data and possible mitigation/correction strategies.

Nonlinear Optical Image Processing with Bacteriorhodopsin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Downie, John D.; Deiss, Ron (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The transmission properties of some bacteriorhodopsin film spatial light modulators are uniquely suited to allow nonlinear optical image processing operations to be applied to images with multiplicative noise characteristics. A logarithmic amplitude transmission feature of the film permits the conversion of multiplicative noise to additive noise, which may then be linearly filtered out in the Fourier plane of the transformed image. The bacteriorhodopsin film displays the logarithmic amplitude response for write beam intensities spanning a dynamic range greater than 2.0 orders of magnitude. We present experimental results demonstrating the principle and capability for several different image and noise situations, including deterministic noise and speckle. Using the bacteriorhodopsin film, we successfully filter out image noise from the transformed image that cannot be removed from the original image.

Crop Row Detection in Maize Fields Inspired on the Human Visual Perception

PubMed Central

Romeo, J.; Pajares, G.; Montalvo, M.; Guerrero, J. M.; Guijarro, M.; Ribeiro, A.

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a new method, oriented to image real-time processing, for identifying crop rows in maize fields in the images. The vision system is designed to be installed onboard a mobile agricultural vehicle, that is, submitted to gyros, vibrations, and undesired movements. The images are captured under image perspective, being affected by the above undesired effects. The image processing consists of two main processes: image segmentation and crop row detection. The first one applies a threshold to separate green plants or pixels (crops and weeds) from the rest (soil, stones, and others). It is based on a fuzzy clustering process, which allows obtaining the threshold to be applied during the normal operation process. The crop row detection applies a method based on image perspective projection that searches for maximum accumulation of segmented green pixels along straight alignments. They determine the expected crop lines in the images. The method is robust enough to work under the above-mentioned undesired effects. It is favorably compared against the well-tested Hough transformation for line detection. PMID:22623899

a Hadoop-Based Distributed Framework for Efficient Managing and Processing Big Remote Sensing Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C.; Hu, F.; Hu, X.; Zhao, S.; Wen, W.; Yang, C.

2015-07-01

Various sensors from airborne and satellite platforms are producing large volumes of remote sensing images for mapping, environmental monitoring, disaster management, military intelligence, and others. However, it is challenging to efficiently storage, query and process such big data due to the data- and computing- intensive issues. In this paper, a Hadoop-based framework is proposed to manage and process the big remote sensing data in a distributed and parallel manner. Especially, remote sensing data can be directly fetched from other data platforms into the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). The Orfeo toolbox, a ready-to-use tool for large image processing, is integrated into MapReduce to provide affluent image processing operations. With the integration of HDFS, Orfeo toolbox and MapReduce, these remote sensing images can be directly processed in parallel in a scalable computing environment. The experiment results show that the proposed framework can efficiently manage and process such big remote sensing data.

Controlled electrostatic methodology for imaging indentations in documents.

PubMed

Yaraskavitch, Luke; Graydon, Matthew; Tanaka, Tobin; Ng, Lay-Keow

2008-05-20

The electrostatic process for imaging indentations on documents using the ESDA device is investigated under controlled experimental settings. An in-house modified commercial xerographic developer housing is used to control the uniformity and volume of toner deposition, allowing for reproducible image development. Along with this novel development tool, an electrostatic voltmeter and fixed environmental conditions facilitate an optimization process. Sample documents are preconditioned in a humidity cabinet with microprocessor control, and the significant benefit of humidification above 70% RH on image quality is verified. Improving on the subjective methods of previous studies, image quality analysis is carried out in an objective and reproducible manner using the PIAS-II. For the seven commercial paper types tested, the optimum ESDA operating point is found to be at an electric potential near -400V at the Mylar surface; however, for most paper types, the optimum operating regime is found to be quite broad, spanning relatively small electric potentials between -200 and -550V. At -400V, the film right above an indented area generally carries a voltage which is 30-50V less negative than the non-indented background. In contrast with Seward's findings [G.H. Seward, Model for electrostatic imaging of forensic evidence via discharge through Mylar-paper path, J. Appl. Phys. 83 (3) (1998) 1450-1456; G.H. Seward, Practical implications of the charge transport model for electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA), J. Forensic Sci. 44 (4) (1999) 832-836], a period of charge decay before image development is not required when operating in this optimal regime. A brief investigation of the role played by paper-to-paper friction during the indentation process is conducted using our optimized development method.

Integration of image capture and processing: beyond single-chip digital camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, SukHwan; El Gamal, Abbas

2001-05-01

An important trend in the design of digital cameras is the integration of capture and processing onto a single CMOS chip. Although integrating the components of a digital camera system onto a single chip significantly reduces system size and power, it does not fully exploit the potential advantages of integration. We argue that a key advantage of integration is the ability to exploit the high speed imaging capability of CMOS image senor to enable new applications such as multiple capture for enhancing dynamic range and to improve the performance of existing applications such as optical flow estimation. Conventional digital cameras operate at low frame rates and it would be too costly, if not infeasible, to operate their chips at high frame rates. Integration solves this problem. The idea is to capture images at much higher frame rates than he standard frame rate, process the high frame rate data on chip, and output the video sequence and the application specific data at standard frame rate. This idea is applied to optical flow estimation, where significant performance improvements are demonstrate over methods using standard frame rate sequences. We then investigate the constraints on memory size and processing power that can be integrated with a CMOS image sensor in a 0.18 micrometers process and below. We show that enough memory and processing power can be integrated to be able to not only perform the functions of a conventional camera system but also to perform applications such as real time optical flow estimation.

Woods Hole Image Processing System Software implementation; using NetCDF as a software interface for image processing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paskevich, Valerie F.

1992-01-01

The Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology has been involved in the collection, processing and digital mosaicking of high, medium and low-resolution side-scan sonar data during the past 6 years. In the past, processing and digital mosaicking has been accomplished with a dedicated, shore-based computer system. With the need to process sidescan data in the field with increased power and reduced cost of major workstations, a need to have an image processing package on a UNIX based computer system which could be utilized in the field as well as be more generally available to Branch personnel was identified. This report describes the initial development of that package referred to as the Woods Hole Image Processing System (WHIPS). The software was developed using the Unidata NetCDF software interface to allow data to be more readily portable between different computer operating systems.

Using a high-definition stereoscopic video system to teach microscopic surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilgner, Justus; Park, Jonas Jae-Hyun; Labbé, Daniel; Westhofen, Martin

2007-02-01

Introduction: While there is an increasing demand for minimally invasive operative techniques in Ear, Nose and Throat surgery, these operations are difficult to learn for junior doctors and demanding to supervise for experienced surgeons. The motivation for this study was to integrate high-definition (HD) stereoscopic video monitoring in microscopic surgery in order to facilitate teaching interaction between senior and junior surgeon. Material and methods: We attached a 1280x1024 HD stereo camera (TrueVisionSystems TM Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, USA) to an operating microscope (Zeiss ProMagis, Zeiss Co., Oberkochen, Germany), whose images were processed online by a PC workstation consisting of a dual Intel® Xeon® CPU (Intel Co., Santa Clara, CA). The live image was displayed by two LCD projectors @ 1280x768 pixels on a 1,25m rear-projection screen by polarized filters. While the junior surgeon performed the surgical procedure based on the displayed stereoscopic image, all other participants (senior surgeon, nurse and medical students) shared the same stereoscopic image from the screen. Results: With the basic setup being performed only once on the day before surgery, fine adjustments required about 10 minutes extra during the operation schedule, which fitted into the time interval between patients and thus did not prolong operation times. As all relevant features of the operative field were demonstrated on one large screen, four major effects were obtained: A) Stereoscopy facilitated orientation for the junior surgeon as well as for medical students. B) The stereoscopic image served as an unequivocal guide for the senior surgeon to demonstrate the next surgical steps to the junior colleague. C) The theatre nurse shared the same image, anticipating the next instruments which were needed. D) Medical students instantly share the information given by all staff and the image, thus avoiding the need for an extra teaching session. Conclusion: High definition stereoscopy bears the potential to compress the learning curve for undergraduate as well as postgraduate medical professionals in minimally invasive surgery. Further studies will focus on the long term effect for operative training as well as on post-processing of HD stereoscopy video content for off-line interactive medical education.

Integration of patient specific modeling and advanced image processing techniques for image-guided neurosurgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Archip, Neculai; Fedorov, Andriy; Lloyd, Bryn; Chrisochoides, Nikos; Golby, Alexandra; Black, Peter M.; Warfield, Simon K.

2006-03-01

A major challenge in neurosurgery oncology is to achieve maximal tumor removal while avoiding postoperative neurological deficits. Therefore, estimation of the brain deformation during the image guided tumor resection process is necessary. While anatomic MRI is highly sensitive for intracranial pathology, its specificity is limited. Different pathologies may have a very similar appearance on anatomic MRI. Moreover, since fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging are not currently available during the surgery, non-rigid registration of preoperative MR with intra-operative MR is necessary. This article presents a translational research effort that aims to integrate a number of state-of-the-art technologies for MRI-guided neurosurgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). Our ultimate goal is to routinely provide the neurosurgeons with accurate information about brain deformation during the surgery. The current system is tested during the weekly neurosurgeries in the open magnet at the BWH. The preoperative data is processed, prior to the surgery, while both rigid and non-rigid registration algorithms are run in the vicinity of the operating room. The system is tested on 9 image datasets from 3 neurosurgery cases. A method based on edge detection is used to quantitatively validate the results. 95% Hausdorff distance between points of the edges is used to estimate the accuracy of the registration. Overall, the minimum error is 1.4 mm, the mean error 2.23 mm, and the maximum error 3.1 mm. The mean ratio between brain deformation estimation and rigid alignment is 2.07. It demonstrates that our results can be 2.07 times more precise then the current technology. The major contribution of the presented work is the rigid and non-rigid alignment of the pre-operative fMRI with intra-operative 0.5T MRI achieved during the neurosurgery.

Platform for Postprocessing Waveform-Based NDE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, Don

2008-01-01

Taking advantage of the similarities that exist among all waveform-based non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods, a common software platform has been developed containing multiple- signal and image-processing techniques for waveforms and images. The NASA NDE Signal and Image Processing software has been developed using the latest versions of LabVIEW, and its associated Advanced Signal Processing and Vision Toolkits. The software is useable on a PC with Windows XP and Windows Vista. The software has been designed with a commercial grade interface in which two main windows, Waveform Window and Image Window, are displayed if the user chooses a waveform file to display. Within these two main windows, most actions are chosen through logically conceived run-time menus. The Waveform Window has plots for both the raw time-domain waves and their frequency- domain transformations (fast Fourier transform and power spectral density). The Image Window shows the C-scan image formed from information of the time-domain waveform (such as peak amplitude) or its frequency-domain transformation at each scan location. The user also has the ability to open an image, or series of images, or a simple set of X-Y paired data set in text format. Each of the Waveform and Image Windows contains menus from which to perform many user actions. An option exists to use raw waves obtained directly from scan, or waves after deconvolution if system wave response is provided. Two types of deconvolution, time-based subtraction or inverse-filter, can be performed to arrive at a deconvolved wave set. Additionally, the menu on the Waveform Window allows preprocessing of waveforms prior to image formation, scaling and display of waveforms, formation of different types of images (including non-standard types such as velocity), gating of portions of waves prior to image formation, and several other miscellaneous and specialized operations. The menu available on the Image Window allows many further image processing and analysis operations, some of which are found in commercially-available image-processing software programs (such as Adobe Photoshop), and some that are not (removing outliers, Bscan information, region-of-interest analysis, line profiles, and precision feature measurements).

A Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar Partial Fixed-Point Imaging System Using a Field- Programmable Gate Array—Application-Specific Integrated Circuit Hybrid Heterogeneous Parallel Acceleration Technique

PubMed Central

Li, Bingyi; Chen, Liang; Wei, Chunpeng; Xie, Yizhuang; Chen, He; Yu, Wenyue

2017-01-01

With the development of satellite load technology and very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuit technology, onboard real-time synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging systems have become a solution for allowing rapid response to disasters. A key goal of the onboard SAR imaging system design is to achieve high real-time processing performance with severe size, weight, and power consumption constraints. In this paper, we analyse the computational burden of the commonly used chirp scaling (CS) SAR imaging algorithm. To reduce the system hardware cost, we propose a partial fixed-point processing scheme. The fast Fourier transform (FFT), which is the most computation-sensitive operation in the CS algorithm, is processed with fixed-point, while other operations are processed with single precision floating-point. With the proposed fixed-point processing error propagation model, the fixed-point processing word length is determined. The fidelity and accuracy relative to conventional ground-based software processors is verified by evaluating both the point target imaging quality and the actual scene imaging quality. As a proof of concept, a field- programmable gate array—application-specific integrated circuit (FPGA-ASIC) hybrid heterogeneous parallel accelerating architecture is designed and realized. The customized fixed-point FFT is implemented using the 130 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology as a co-processor of the Xilinx xc6vlx760t FPGA. A single processing board requires 12 s and consumes 21 W to focus a 50-km swath width, 5-m resolution stripmap SAR raw data with a granularity of 16,384 × 16,384. PMID:28672813

A Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar Partial Fixed-Point Imaging System Using a Field- Programmable Gate Array-Application-Specific Integrated Circuit Hybrid Heterogeneous Parallel Acceleration Technique.

PubMed

Yang, Chen; Li, Bingyi; Chen, Liang; Wei, Chunpeng; Xie, Yizhuang; Chen, He; Yu, Wenyue

2017-06-24

With the development of satellite load technology and very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuit technology, onboard real-time synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging systems have become a solution for allowing rapid response to disasters. A key goal of the onboard SAR imaging system design is to achieve high real-time processing performance with severe size, weight, and power consumption constraints. In this paper, we analyse the computational burden of the commonly used chirp scaling (CS) SAR imaging algorithm. To reduce the system hardware cost, we propose a partial fixed-point processing scheme. The fast Fourier transform (FFT), which is the most computation-sensitive operation in the CS algorithm, is processed with fixed-point, while other operations are processed with single precision floating-point. With the proposed fixed-point processing error propagation model, the fixed-point processing word length is determined. The fidelity and accuracy relative to conventional ground-based software processors is verified by evaluating both the point target imaging quality and the actual scene imaging quality. As a proof of concept, a field- programmable gate array-application-specific integrated circuit (FPGA-ASIC) hybrid heterogeneous parallel accelerating architecture is designed and realized. The customized fixed-point FFT is implemented using the 130 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology as a co-processor of the Xilinx xc6vlx760t FPGA. A single processing board requires 12 s and consumes 21 W to focus a 50-km swath width, 5-m resolution stripmap SAR raw data with a granularity of 16,384 × 16,384.

Image analysis for maintenance of coating quality in nickel electroplating baths--real time control.

PubMed

Vidal, M; Amigo, J M; Bro, R; van den Berg, F; Ostra, M; Ubide, C

2011-11-07

The aim of this paper is to show how it is possible to extract analytical information from images acquired with a flatbed scanner and make use of this information for real time control of a nickel plating process. Digital images of plated steel sheets in a nickel bath are used to follow the process under degradation of specific additives. Dedicated software has been developed for making the obtained results accessible to process operators. This includes obtaining the RGB image, to select the red channel data exclusively, to calculate the histogram of the red channel data and to calculate the mean colour value (MCV) and the standard deviation of the red channel data. MCV is then used by the software to determine the concentration of the additives Supreme Plus Brightner (SPB) and SA-1 (for confidentiality reasons, the chemical contents cannot be further detailed) present in the bath (these two additives degrade and their concentration changes during the process). Finally, the software informs the operator when the bath is generating unsuitable quality plating and suggests the amount of SPB and SA-1 to be added in order to recover the original plating quality. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensor fusion for synthetic vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pavel, M.; Larimer, J.; Ahumada, A.

1991-01-01

Display methodologies are explored for fusing images gathered by millimeter wave sensors with images rendered from an on-board terrain data base to facilitate visually guided flight and ground operations in low visibility conditions. An approach to fusion based on multiresolution image representation and processing is described which facilitates fusion of images differing in resolution within and between images. To investigate possible fusion methods, a workstation-based simulation environment is being developed.

Nondestructive SEM for surface and subsurface wafer imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Propst, Roy H.; Bagnell, C. Robert; Cole, Edward I., Jr.; Davies, Brian G.; Dibianca, Frank A.; Johnson, Darryl G.; Oxford, William V.; Smith, Craig A.

1987-01-01

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is considered as a tool for both failure analysis as well as device characterization. A survey is made of various operational SEM modes and their applicability to image processing methods on semiconductor devices.

Anniversary Paper: Image processing and manipulation through the pages of Medical Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Armato, Samuel G. III; Ginneken, Bram van; Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, Room Q0S.459, 3584 CX Utrecht

The language of radiology has gradually evolved from ''the film'' (the foundation of radiology since Wilhelm Roentgen's 1895 discovery of x-rays) to ''the image,'' an electronic manifestation of a radiologic examination that exists within the bits and bytes of a computer. Rather than simply storing and displaying radiologic images in a static manner, the computational power of the computer may be used to enhance a radiologist's ability to visually extract information from the image through image processing and image manipulation algorithms. Image processing tools provide a broad spectrum of opportunities for image enhancement. Gray-level manipulations such as histogram equalization, spatialmore » alterations such as geometric distortion correction, preprocessing operations such as edge enhancement, and enhanced radiography techniques such as temporal subtraction provide powerful methods to improve the diagnostic quality of an image or to enhance structures of interest within an image. Furthermore, these image processing algorithms provide the building blocks of more advanced computer vision methods. The prominent role of medical physicists and the AAPM in the advancement of medical image processing methods, and in the establishment of the ''image'' as the fundamental entity in radiology and radiation oncology, has been captured in 35 volumes of Medical Physics.« less

Software architecture for intelligent image processing using Prolog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Andrew C.; Batchelor, Bruce G.

1994-10-01

We describe a prototype system for interactive image processing using Prolog, implemented by the first author on an Apple Macintosh computer. This system is inspired by Prolog+, but differs from it in two particularly important respects. The first is that whereas Prolog+ assumes the availability of dedicated image processing hardware, with which the Prolog system communicates, our present system implements image processing functions in software using the C programming language. The second difference is that although our present system supports Prolog+ commands, these are implemented in terms of lower-level Prolog predicates which provide a more flexible approach to image manipulation. We discuss the impact of the Apple Macintosh operating system upon the implementation of the image-processing functions, and the interface between these functions and the Prolog system. We also explain how the Prolog+ commands have been implemented. The system described in this paper is a fairly early prototype, and we outline how we intend to develop the system, a task which is expedited by the extensible architecture we have implemented.

Design of embedded endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming; Zhou, Hao; Wen, Shijie; Chen, Xiodong; Yu, Daoyin

2008-12-01

Endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system is an important component in the endoscopic ultrasonography system (EUS). Through the ultrasonic probe, the characteristics of the fault histology features of digestive organs is detected by EUS, and then received by the reception circuit which making up of amplifying, gain compensation, filtering and A/D converter circuit, in the form of ultrasonic echo. Endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system is the back-end processing system of the EUS, with the function of receiving digital ultrasonic echo modulated by the digestive tract wall from the reception circuit, acquiring and showing the fault histology features in the form of image and characteristic data after digital signal processing, such as demodulation, etc. Traditional endoscopic ultrasonic imaging systems are mainly based on image acquisition and processing chips, which connecting to personal computer with USB2.0 circuit, with the faults of expensive, complicated structure, poor portability, and difficult to popularize. To against the shortcomings above, this paper presents the methods of digital signal acquisition and processing specially based on embedded technology with the core hardware structure of ARM and FPGA for substituting the traditional design with USB2.0 and personal computer. With built-in FIFO and dual-buffer, FPGA implement the ping-pong operation of data storage, simultaneously transferring the image data into ARM through the EBI bus by DMA function, which is controlled by ARM to carry out the purpose of high-speed transmission. The ARM system is being chosen to implement the responsibility of image display every time DMA transmission over and actualizing system control with the drivers and applications running on the embedded operating system Windows CE, which could provide a stable, safe and reliable running platform for the embedded device software. Profiting from the excellent graphical user interface (GUI) and good performance of Windows CE, we can not only clearly show 511×511 pixels ultrasonic echo images through application program, but also provide a simple and friendly operating interface with mouse and touch screen which is more convenient than the traditional endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system. Including core and peripheral circuits of FPGA and ARM, power network circuit and LCD display circuit, we designed the whole embedded system, achieving the desired purpose by implementing ultrasonic image display properly after the experimental verification, solving the problem of hugeness and complexity of the traditional endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system.

EOS image data processing system definition study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, J.; Honikman, T.; Mcmahon, E.; Miller, E.; Pietrzak, L.; Yorsz, W.

1973-01-01

The Image Processing System (IPS) requirements and configuration are defined for NASA-sponsored advanced technology Earth Observatory System (EOS). The scope included investigation and definition of IPS operational, functional, and product requirements considering overall system constraints and interfaces (sensor, etc.) The scope also included investigation of the technical feasibility and definition of a point design reflecting system requirements. The design phase required a survey of present and projected technology related to general and special-purpose processors, high-density digital tape recorders, and image recorders.

Performance of a Method to Standardize Breast Ultrasound Interpretation Using Image Processing and Case-Based Reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

André, M. P.; Galperin, M.; Berry, A.; Ojeda-Fournier, H.; O'Boyle, M.; Olson, L.; Comstock, C.; Taylor, A.; Ledgerwood, M.

Our computer-aided diagnostic (CADx) tool uses advanced image processing and artificial intelligence to analyze findings on breast sonography images. The goal is to standardize reporting of such findings using well-defined descriptors and to improve accuracy and reproducibility of interpretation of breast ultrasound by radiologists. This study examined several factors that may impact accuracy and reproducibility of the CADx software, which proved to be highly accurate and stabile over several operating conditions.

Control Method for Video Guidance Sensor System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Richard T. (Inventor); Book, Michael L. (Inventor); Bryan, Thomas C. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

A method is provided for controlling operations in a video guidance sensor system wherein images of laser output signals transmitted by the system and returned from a target are captured and processed by the system to produce data used in tracking of the target. Six modes of operation are provided as follows: (i) a reset mode; (ii) a diagnostic mode; (iii) a standby mode; (iv) an acquisition mode; (v) a tracking mode; and (vi) a spot mode wherein captured images of returned laser signals are processed to produce data for all spots found in the image. The method provides for automatic transition to the standby mode from the reset mode after integrity checks are performed and from the diagnostic mode to the reset mode after diagnostic operations are commands is permitted only when the system is in the carried out. Further, acceptance of reset and diagnostic standby mode. The method also provides for automatic transition from the acquisition mode to the tracking mode when an acceptable target is found.

Control method for video guidance sensor system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Richard T. (Inventor); Book, Michael L. (Inventor); Bryan, Thomas C. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

A method is provided for controlling operations in a video guidance sensor system wherein images of laser output signals transmitted by the system and returned from a target are captured and processed by the system to produce data used in tracking of the target. Six modes of operation are provided as follows: (i) a reset mode; (ii) a diagnostic mode; (iii) a standby mode; (iv) an acquisition mode; (v) a tracking mode; and (vi) a spot mode wherein captured images of returned laser signals are processed to produce data for all spots found in the image. The method provides for automatic transition to the standby mode from the reset mode after integrity checks are performed and from the diagnostic mode to the reset mode after diagnostic operations are carried out. Further, acceptance of reset and diagnostic commands is permitted only when the system is in the standby mode. The method also provides for automatic transition from the acquisition mode to the tracking mode when an acceptable target is found.

Adaptive marginal median filter for colour images.

PubMed

Morillas, Samuel; Gregori, Valentín; Sapena, Almanzor

2011-01-01

This paper describes a new filter for impulse noise reduction in colour images which is aimed at improving the noise reduction capability of the classical vector median filter. The filter is inspired by the application of a vector marginal median filtering process over a selected group of pixels in each filtering window. This selection, which is based on the vector median, along with the application of the marginal median operation constitutes an adaptive process that leads to a more robust filter design. Also, the proposed method is able to process colour images without introducing colour artifacts. Experimental results show that the images filtered with the proposed method contain less noisy pixels than those obtained through the vector median filter.

Computer Sciences and Data Systems, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

Topics addressed include: software engineering; university grants; institutes; concurrent processing; sparse distributed memory; distributed operating systems; intelligent data management processes; expert system for image analysis; fault tolerant software; and architecture research.

Programmability in AIPS++

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hjellming, R. M.

1992-01-01

AIPS++ is an Astronomical Information Processing System being designed and implemented by an international consortium of NRAO and six other radio astronomy institutions in Australia, India, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the USA. AIPS++ is intended to replace the functionality of AIPS, to be more easily programmable, and will be implemented in C++ using object-oriented techniques. Programmability in AIPS++ is planned at three levels. The first level will be that of a command-line interpreter with characteristics similar to IDL and PV-Wave, but with an intensive set of operations appropriate to telescope data handling, image formation, and image processing. The third level will be in C++ with extensive use of class libraries for both basic operations and advanced applications. The third level will allow input and output of data between external FORTRAN programs and AIPS++ telescope and image databases. In addition to summarizing the above programmability characteristics, this talk will given an overview of the classes currently being designed for telescope data calibration and editing, image formation, and the 'toolkit' of mathematical 'objects' that will perform most of the processing in AIPS++.

Automated x-ray/light field congruence using the LINAC EPID panel.

PubMed

Polak, Wojciech; O'Doherty, Jim; Jones, Matt

2013-03-01

X-ray/light field alignment is a test described in many guidelines for the routine quality control of clinical linear accelerators (LINAC). Currently, the gold standard method for measuring alignment is through utilization of radiographic film. However, many modern LINACs are equipped with an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) that may be used to perform this test and thus subsequently reducing overall cost, processing, and analysis time, removing operator dependency and the requirement to sustain the departmental film processor. This work describes a novel method of utilizing the EPID together with a custom inhouse designed jig and automatic image processing software allowing measurement of the light field size, x-ray field size, and congruence between them. The authors present results of testing the method for aS1000 and aS500 Varian EPID detectors for six LINACs at a range of energies (6, 10, and 15 MV) in comparison with the results obtained from the use of radiographic film. Reproducibility of the software in fully automatic operation under a range of operating conditions for a single image showed a congruence of 0.01 cm with a coefficient of variation of 0. Slight variation in congruence repeatability was noted through semiautomatic processing by four independent operators due to manual marking of positions on the jig. Testing of the methodology using the automatic method shows a high precision of 0.02 mm compared to a maximum of 0.06 mm determined by film processing. Intraindividual examination of operator measurements of congruence was shown to vary as much as 0.75 mm. Similar congruence measurements of 0.02 mm were also determined for a lower resolution EPID (aS500 model), after rescaling of the image to the aS1000 image size. The designed methodology was proven to be time efficient, cost effective, and at least as accurate as using the gold standard radiographic film. Additionally, congruence testing can be easily performed for all four cardinal gantry angles which can be difficult when using radiographic film. Therefore, the authors propose it can be used as an alternative to the radiographic film method allowing decommissioning of the film processor.

A cost effective and high fidelity fluoroscopy simulator using the Image-Guided Surgery Toolkit (IGSTK)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Ren Hui; Jenkins, Brad; Sze, Raymond W.; Yaniv, Ziv

2014-03-01

The skills required for obtaining informative x-ray fluoroscopy images are currently acquired while trainees provide clinical care. As a consequence, trainees and patients are exposed to higher doses of radiation. Use of simulation has the potential to reduce this radiation exposure by enabling trainees to improve their skills in a safe environment prior to treating patients. We describe a low cost, high fidelity, fluoroscopy simulation system. Our system enables operators to practice their skills using the clinical device and simulated x-rays of a virtual patient. The patient is represented using a set of temporal Computed Tomography (CT) images, corresponding to the underlying dynamic processes. Simulated x-ray images, digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs), are generated from the CTs using ray-casting with customizable machine specific imaging parameters. To establish the spatial relationship between the CT and the fluoroscopy device, the CT is virtually attached to a patient phantom and a web camera is used to track the phantom's pose. The camera is mounted on the fluoroscope's intensifier and the relationship between it and the x-ray source is obtained via calibration. To control image acquisition the operator moves the fluoroscope as in normal operation mode. Control of zoom, collimation and image save is done using a keypad mounted alongside the device's control panel. Implementation is based on the Image-Guided Surgery Toolkit (IGSTK), and the use of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for accelerated image generation. Our system was evaluated by 11 clinicians and was found to be sufficiently realistic for training purposes.

Nonlinear coherent optical image processing using logarithmic transmittance of bacteriorhodopsin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downie, John D.

1995-08-01

The transmission properties of some bacteriorhodopsin-film spatial light modulators are uniquely suited to allow nonlinear optical image-processing operations to be applied to images with multiplicative noise characteristics. A logarithmic amplitude-transmission characteristic of the film permits the conversion of multiplicative noise to additive noise, which may then be linearly filtered out in the Fourier plane of the transformed image. I present experimental results demonstrating the principle and the capability for several different image and noise situations, including deterministic noise and speckle. The bacteriorhodopsin film studied here displays the logarithmic transmission response for write intensities spanning a dynamic range greater than 2 orders of magnitude.

Image Display and Manipulation System (IDAMS) program documentation, Appendixes A-D. [including routines, convolution filtering, image expansion, and fast Fourier transformation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cecil, R. W.; White, R. A.; Szczur, M. R.

1972-01-01

The IDAMS Processor is a package of task routines and support software that performs convolution filtering, image expansion, fast Fourier transformation, and other operations on a digital image tape. A unique task control card for that program, together with any necessary parameter cards, selects each processing technique to be applied to the input image. A variable number of tasks can be selected for execution by including the proper task and parameter cards in the input deck. An executive maintains control of the run; it initiates execution of each task in turn and handles any necessary error processing.

Nonlinear Coherent Optical Image Processing Using Logarithmic Transmittance of Bacteriorhodopsin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Downie, John D.

1995-01-01

The transmission properties of some bacteriorhodopsin-film spatial light modulators are uniquely suited to allow nonlinear optical image-processing operations to be applied to images with multiplicative noise characteristics. A logarithmic amplitude-transmission characteristic of the film permits the conversion of multiplicative noise to additive noise, which may then be linearly filtered out in the Fourier plane of the transformed image. I present experimental results demonstrating the principle and the capability for several different image and noise situations, including deterministic noise and speckle. The bacteriorhodopsin film studied here displays the logarithmic transmission response for write intensities spanning a dynamic range greater than 2 orders of magnitude.

Quantum image processing: A review of advances in its security technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Fei; Iliyasu, Abdullah M.; Le, Phuc Q.

In this review, we present an overview of the advances made in quantum image processing (QIP) comprising of the image representations, the operations realizable on them, and the likely protocols and algorithms for their applications. In particular, we focus on recent progresses on QIP-based security technologies including quantum watermarking, quantum image encryption, and quantum image steganography. This review is aimed at providing readers with a succinct, yet adequate compendium of the progresses made in the QIP sub-area. Hopefully, this effort will stimulate further interest aimed at the pursuit of more advanced algorithms and experimental validations for available technologies and extensions to other domains.

An architecture for a brain-image database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herskovits, E. H.

2000-01-01

The widespread availability of methods for noninvasive assessment of brain structure has enabled researchers to investigate neuroimaging correlates of normal aging, cerebrovascular disease, and other processes; we designate such studies as image-based clinical trials (IBCTs). We propose an architecture for a brain-image database, which integrates image processing and statistical operators, and thus supports the implementation and analysis of IBCTs. The implementation of this architecture is described and results from the analysis of image and clinical data from two IBCTs are presented. We expect that systems such as this will play a central role in the management and analysis of complex research data sets.

The Radon cumulative distribution transform and its application to image classification

PubMed Central

Kolouri, Soheil; Park, Se Rim; Rohde, Gustavo K.

2016-01-01

Invertible image representation methods (transforms) are routinely employed as low-level image processing operations based on which feature extraction and recognition algorithms are developed. Most transforms in current use (e.g. Fourier, Wavelet, etc.) are linear transforms, and, by themselves, are unable to substantially simplify the representation of image classes for classification. Here we describe a nonlinear, invertible, low-level image processing transform based on combining the well known Radon transform for image data, and the 1D Cumulative Distribution Transform proposed earlier. We describe a few of the properties of this new transform, and with both theoretical and experimental results show that it can often render certain problems linearly separable in transform space. PMID:26685245

Desktop publishing and medical imaging: paper as hardcopy medium for digital images.

PubMed

Denslow, S

1994-08-01

Desktop-publishing software and hardware has progressed to the point that many widely used word-processing programs are capable of printing high-quality digital images with many shades of gray from black to white. Accordingly, it should be relatively easy to print digital medical images on paper for reports, instructional materials, and in research notes. Components were assembled that were necessary for extracting image data from medical imaging devices and converting the data to a form usable by word-processing software. A system incorporating these components was implemented in a medical setting and has been operating for 18 months. The use of this system by medical staff has been monitored.

Sensing system for detection and control of deposition on pendant tubes in recovery and power boilers

DOEpatents

Kychakoff, George; Afromowitz, Martin A; Hugle, Richard E

2005-06-21

A system for detection and control of deposition on pendant tubes in recovery and power boilers includes one or more deposit monitoring sensors operating in infrared regions and about 4 or 8.7 microns and directly producing images of the interior of the boiler. An image pre-processing circuit (95) in which a 2-D image formed by the video data input is captured, and includes a low pass filter for performing noise filtering of said video input. An image segmentation module (105) for separating the image of the recovery boiler interior into background, pendant tubes, and deposition. An image-understanding unit (115) matches derived regions to a 3-D model of said boiler. It derives a 3-D structure the deposition on pendant tubes in the boiler and provides the information about deposits to the plant distributed control system (130) for more efficient operation of the plant pendant tube cleaning and operating systems.

Performance of the dark energy camera liquid nitrogen cooling system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cease, H.; Alvarez, M.; Alvarez, R.; Bonati, M.; Derylo, G.; Estrada, J.; Flaugher, B.; Flores, R.; Lathrop, A.; Munoz, F.; Schmidt, R.; Schmitt, R. L.; Schultz, K.; Kuhlmann, S.; Zhao, A.

2014-01-01

The Dark Energy Camera, the Imager and its cooling system was installed onto the Blanco 4m telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile in September 2012. The imager cooling system is a LN2 two-phase closed loop cryogenic cooling system. The cryogenic circulation processing is located off the telescope. Liquid nitrogen vacuum jacketed transfer lines are run up the outside of the telescope truss tubes to the imager inside the prime focus cage. The design of the cooling system along with commissioning experiences and initial cooling system performance is described. The LN2 cooling system with the DES imager was initially operated at Fermilab for testing, then shipped and tested in the Blanco Coudé room. Now the imager is operating inside the prime focus cage. It is shown that the cooling performance sufficiently cools the imager in a closed loop mode, which can operate for extended time periods without maintenance or LN2 fills.

Flexible imaging payload for real-time fluorescent biological imaging in parabolic, suborbital and space analog environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bamsey, Matthew T.; Paul, Anna-Lisa; Graham, Thomas; Ferl, Robert J.

2014-10-01

Fluorescent imaging offers the ability to monitor biological functions, in this case biological responses to space-related environments. For plants, fluorescent imaging can include general health indicators such as chlorophyll fluorescence as well as specific metabolic indicators such as engineered fluorescent reporters. This paper describes the Flex Imager a fluorescent imaging payload designed for Middeck Locker deployment and now tested on multiple flight and flight-related platforms. The Flex Imager and associated payload elements have been developed with a focus on 'flexibility' allowing for multiple imaging modalities and change-out of individual imaging or control components in the field. The imaging platform is contained within the standard Middeck Locker spaceflight form factor, with components affixed to a baseplate that permits easy rearrangement and fine adjustment of components. The Flex Imager utilizes standard software packages to simplify operation, operator training, and evaluation by flight provider flight test engineers, or by researchers processing the raw data. Images are obtained using a commercial cooled CCD image sensor, with light-emitting diodes for excitation and a suite of filters that allow biological samples to be imaged over wavelength bands of interest. Although baselined for the monitoring of green fluorescent protein and chlorophyll fluorescence from Arabidopsis samples, the Flex Imager payload permits imaging of any biological sample contained within a standard 10 cm by 10 cm square Petri plate. A sample holder was developed to secure sample plates under different flight profiles while permitting sample change-out should crewed operations be possible. In addition to crew-directed imaging, autonomous or telemetric operation of the payload is also a viable operational mode. An infrared camera has also been integrated into the Flex Imager payload to allow concurrent fluorescent and thermal imaging of samples. The Flex Imager has been utilized to assess, in real-time, the response of plants to novel environments including various spaceflight analogs, including several parabolic flight environments as well as hypobaric plant growth chambers. Basic performance results obtained under these operational environments, as well as laboratory-based tests are described. The Flex Imager has also been designed to be compatible with emerging suborbital platforms.

Surgical approaches to chronic pancreatitis: indications and imaging findings.

PubMed

Hafezi-Nejad, Nima; Singh, Vikesh K; Johnson, Stephen I; Makary, Martin A; Hirose, Kenzo; Fishman, Elliot K; Zaheer, Atif

2016-10-01

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is an irreversible, inflammatory process characterized by progressive fibrosis of the pancreas that can result in abdominal pain, exocrine insufficiency, and diabetes. Inadequate pain relief using medical and/or endoscopic therapies is an indication for surgery. The surgical management of CP is centered around three main operations including pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) and drainage procedures, and total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT). PD is the method of choice when there is a high suspicion for malignancy. Combined drainage and resection procedures are associated with pain relief, higher quality of life, and superior short-term and long-term survival in comparison with the PD. TPIAT is a reemerging treatment that may be promising in subjects with intractable pain and impaired quality of life. Imaging examinations have an extensive role in pre-operative and post-operative evaluation of CP patients. Pre-operative advanced imaging examinations including CT and MRI can detect hallmarks of CP such as calcifications, pancreatic duct dilatation, chronic pseudocysts, focal pancreatic enlargement, and biliary ductal dilatation. Post-operative findings may include periportal hepatic edema, pneumobilia, perivascular cuffing and mild pancreatic duct dilation. Imaging can also be useful in the detection of post-operative complications including obstructions, anastomotic leaks, and vascular lesions. Imaging helps identify unique post-operative findings associated with TPIAT and may aid in predicting viability and function of the transplanted islet cells. In this review, we explore surgical indications as well as pre-operative and post-operative imaging findings associated with surgical options that are typically performed for CP patients.

Image processing on the image with pixel noise bits removed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuang, Keh-Shih; Wu, Christine

1992-06-01

Our previous studies used statistical methods to assess the noise level in digital images of various radiological modalities. We separated the pixel data into signal bits and noise bits and demonstrated visually that the removal of the noise bits does not affect the image quality. In this paper we apply image enhancement techniques on noise-bits-removed images and demonstrate that the removal of noise bits has no effect on the image property. The image processing techniques used are gray-level look up table transformation, Sobel edge detector, and 3-D surface display. Preliminary results show no noticeable difference between original image and noise bits removed image using look up table operation and Sobel edge enhancement. There is a slight enhancement of the slicing artifact in the 3-D surface display of the noise bits removed image.

Efficient Smart CMOS Camera Based on FPGAs Oriented to Embedded Image Processing

PubMed Central

Bravo, Ignacio; Baliñas, Javier; Gardel, Alfredo; Lázaro, José L.; Espinosa, Felipe; García, Jorge

2011-01-01

This article describes an image processing system based on an intelligent ad-hoc camera, whose two principle elements are a high speed 1.2 megapixel Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The latter is used to control the various sensor parameter configurations and, where desired, to receive and process the images captured by the CMOS sensor. The flexibility and versatility offered by the new FPGA families makes it possible to incorporate microprocessors into these reconfigurable devices, and these are normally used for highly sequential tasks unsuitable for parallelization in hardware. For the present study, we used a Xilinx XC4VFX12 FPGA, which contains an internal Power PC (PPC) microprocessor. In turn, this contains a standalone system which manages the FPGA image processing hardware and endows the system with multiple software options for processing the images captured by the CMOS sensor. The system also incorporates an Ethernet channel for sending processed and unprocessed images from the FPGA to a remote node. Consequently, it is possible to visualize and configure system operation and captured and/or processed images remotely. PMID:22163739

Quality Improvement of Liver Ultrasound Images Using Fuzzy Techniques.

PubMed

Bayani, Azadeh; Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Radmard, Amir Reza; Nejad, Ahmadreza Farzaneh

2016-12-01

Liver ultrasound images are so common and are applied so often to diagnose diffuse liver diseases like fatty liver. However, the low quality of such images makes it difficult to analyze them and diagnose diseases. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to improve the contrast and quality of liver ultrasound images. In this study, a number of image contrast enhancement algorithms which are based on fuzzy logic were applied to liver ultrasound images - in which the view of kidney is observable - using Matlab2013b to improve the image contrast and quality which has a fuzzy definition; just like image contrast improvement algorithms using a fuzzy intensification operator, contrast improvement algorithms applying fuzzy image histogram hyperbolization, and contrast improvement algorithms by fuzzy IF-THEN rules. With the measurement of Mean Squared Error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio obtained from different images, fuzzy methods provided better results, and their implementation - compared with histogram equalization method - led both to the improvement of contrast and visual quality of images and to the improvement of liver segmentation algorithms results in images. Comparison of the four algorithms revealed the power of fuzzy logic in improving image contrast compared with traditional image processing algorithms. Moreover, contrast improvement algorithm based on a fuzzy intensification operator was selected as the strongest algorithm considering the measured indicators. This method can also be used in future studies on other ultrasound images for quality improvement and other image processing and analysis applications.

Quality Improvement of Liver Ultrasound Images Using Fuzzy Techniques

PubMed Central

Bayani, Azadeh; Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Radmard, Amir Reza; Nejad, Ahmadreza Farzaneh

2016-01-01

Background: Liver ultrasound images are so common and are applied so often to diagnose diffuse liver diseases like fatty liver. However, the low quality of such images makes it difficult to analyze them and diagnose diseases. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to improve the contrast and quality of liver ultrasound images. Methods: In this study, a number of image contrast enhancement algorithms which are based on fuzzy logic were applied to liver ultrasound images - in which the view of kidney is observable - using Matlab2013b to improve the image contrast and quality which has a fuzzy definition; just like image contrast improvement algorithms using a fuzzy intensification operator, contrast improvement algorithms applying fuzzy image histogram hyperbolization, and contrast improvement algorithms by fuzzy IF-THEN rules. Results: With the measurement of Mean Squared Error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio obtained from different images, fuzzy methods provided better results, and their implementation - compared with histogram equalization method - led both to the improvement of contrast and visual quality of images and to the improvement of liver segmentation algorithms results in images. Conclusion: Comparison of the four algorithms revealed the power of fuzzy logic in improving image contrast compared with traditional image processing algorithms. Moreover, contrast improvement algorithm based on a fuzzy intensification operator was selected as the strongest algorithm considering the measured indicators. This method can also be used in future studies on other ultrasound images for quality improvement and other image processing and analysis applications. PMID:28077898

Visual information processing; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 20-22, 1992

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huck, Friedrich O. (Editor); Juday, Richard D. (Editor)

1992-01-01

Topics discussed in these proceedings include nonlinear processing and communications; feature extraction and recognition; image gathering, interpolation, and restoration; image coding; and wavelet transform. Papers are presented on noise reduction for signals from nonlinear systems; driving nonlinear systems with chaotic signals; edge detection and image segmentation of space scenes using fractal analyses; a vision system for telerobotic operation; a fidelity analysis of image gathering, interpolation, and restoration; restoration of images degraded by motion; and information, entropy, and fidelity in visual communication. Attention is also given to image coding methods and their assessment, hybrid JPEG/recursive block coding of images, modified wavelets that accommodate causality, modified wavelet transform for unbiased frequency representation, and continuous wavelet transform of one-dimensional signals by Fourier filtering.

Design of a handheld infrared imaging device based on uncooled infrared detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xianzhong; Li, Junwei; Zhang, Yazhou

2017-02-01

This paper, we introduced the system structure and operation principle of the device, and discussed our solutions for image data acquisition and storage, operating states and modes control and power management in detail. Besides, we proposed a algorithm of pseudo color for thermal image and applied it to the image processing module of the device. The thermal images can be real time displayed in a 1.8 inches TFT-LCD. The device has a compacted structure and can be held easily by one hand. It also has a good imaging performance with low power consumption, thermal sensitivity is less than 150mK. At last, we introduced one of its applications for fault diagnosis in electronic circuits, the test shows that: it's a good solution for fast fault detection.

Distance preservation in color image transforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santini, Simone

1999-12-01

Most current image processing systems work on color images, and color is a precious perceptual clue for determining image similarity. Working with color images, however, is not the sam thing as working with images taking values in a 3D Euclidean space. Not only are color spaces bounded, but the characteristics of the observer endow the space with a 'perceptual' metric that in general does not correspond to the metric naturally inherited from R3. This paper studies the problem of filtering color images abstractly. It begins by determining the properties of the color sum and color product operations such that he desirable properties of orthonormal bases will be preserved. The paper then defines a general scheme, based on the action of the additive group on the color space, by which operations that satisfy the required properties can be defined.

MOPEX: a software package for astronomical image processing and visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makovoz, David; Roby, Trey; Khan, Iffat; Booth, Hartley

2006-06-01

We present MOPEX - a software package for astronomical image processing and display. The package is a combination of command-line driven image processing software written in C/C++ with a Java-based GUI. The main image processing capabilities include creating mosaic images, image registration, background matching, point source extraction, as well as a number of minor image processing tasks. The combination of the image processing and display capabilities allows for much more intuitive and efficient way of performing image processing. The GUI allows for the control over the image processing and display to be closely intertwined. Parameter setting, validation, and specific processing options are entered by the user through a set of intuitive dialog boxes. Visualization feeds back into further processing by providing a prompt feedback of the processing results. The GUI also allows for further analysis by accessing and displaying data from existing image and catalog servers using a virtual observatory approach. Even though originally designed for the Spitzer Space Telescope mission, a lot of functionalities are of general usefulness and can be used for working with existing astronomical data and for new missions. The software used in the package has undergone intensive testing and benefited greatly from effective software reuse. The visualization part has been used for observation planning for both the Spitzer and Herschel Space Telescopes as part the tool Spot. The visualization capabilities of Spot have been enhanced and integrated with the image processing functionality of the command-line driven MOPEX. The image processing software is used in the Spitzer automated pipeline processing, which has been in operation for nearly 3 years. The image processing capabilities have also been tested in off-line processing by numerous astronomers at various institutions around the world. The package is multi-platform and includes automatic update capabilities. The software package has been developed by a small group of software developers and scientists at the Spitzer Science Center. It is available for distribution at the Spitzer Science Center web page.

Software for Acquiring Image Data for PIV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wernet, Mark P.; Cheung, H. M.; Kressler, Brian

2003-01-01

PIV Acquisition (PIVACQ) is a computer program for acquisition of data for particle-image velocimetry (PIV). In the PIV system for which PIVACQ was developed, small particles entrained in a flow are illuminated with a sheet of light from a pulsed laser. The illuminated region is monitored by a charge-coupled-device camera that operates in conjunction with a data-acquisition system that includes a frame grabber and a counter-timer board, both installed in a single computer. The camera operates in "frame-straddle" mode where a pair of images can be obtained closely spaced in time (on the order of microseconds). The frame grabber acquires image data from the camera and stores the data in the computer memory. The counter/timer board triggers the camera and synchronizes the pulsing of the laser with acquisition of data from the camera. PIVPROC coordinates all of these functions and provides a graphical user interface, through which the user can control the PIV data-acquisition system. PIVACQ enables the user to acquire a sequence of single-exposure images, display the images, process the images, and then save the images to the computer hard drive. PIVACQ works in conjunction with the PIVPROC program which processes the images of particles into the velocity field in the illuminated plane.

Pulse X-ray device for stereo imaging and few-projection tomography of explosive and fast processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palchikov, E. I.; Dolgikh, A. V.; Klypin, V. V.; Krasnikov, I. Y.; Ryabchun, A. M.

2017-10-01

This paper describes the operation principles and design features of the device for single pulse X-raying of explosive and high-speed processes, developed on the basis of a Tesla transformer with lumped secondary capacitor bank. The circuit with the lumped capacitor bank allows transferring a greater amount of energy to the discharge circuit as compared with the Marks-surge generator for more effective operation with remote X-ray tubes connected by coaxial cables. The device equipped with multiple X-ray tubes provides simultaneous X-raying of extended or spaced objects, stereo imaging, or few-projection tomography.

Segmentation of 830- and 1310-nm LASIK corneal optical coherence tomography images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yan; Shekhar, Raj; Huang, David

2002-05-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides a non-contact and non-invasive means to visualize the corneal anatomy at micron scale resolution. We obtained corneal images from an arc-scanning (converging) OCT system operating at a wavelength of 830nm and a fan-shaped-scanning high-speed OCT system with an operating wavelength of 1310nm. Different scan protocols (arc/fan) and data acquisition rates, as well as wavelength dependent bio-tissue backscatter contrast and optical absorption, make the images acquired using the two systems different. We developed image-processing algorithms to automatically detect the air-tear interface, epithelium-Bowman's layer interface, laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flap interface, and the cornea-aqueous interface in both kinds of images. The overall segmentation scheme for 830nm and 1310nm OCT images was similar, although different strategies were adopted for specific processing approaches. Ultrasound pachymetry measurements of the corneal thickness and Placido-ring based corneal topography measurements of the corneal curvature were made on the same day as the OCT examination. Anterior/posterior corneal surface curvature measurement with OCT was also investigated. Results showed that automated segmentation of OCT images could evaluate anatomic outcome of LASIK surgery.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zoberi, J.

Brachytherapy has proven to be an effective treatment option for prostate cancer. Initially, prostate brachytherapy was delivered through permanently implanted low dose rate (LDR) radioactive sources; however, high dose rate (HDR) temporary brachytherapy for prostate cancer is gaining popularity. Needle insertion during prostate brachytherapy is most commonly performed under ultrasound (U/S) guidance; however, treatment planning may be performed utilizing several imaging modalities either in an intra- or post-operative setting. During intra-operative prostate HDR, the needles are imaged during implantation, and planning may be performed in real time. At present, the most common imaging modality utilized for intra-operative prostate HDR ismore » U/S. Alternatively, in the post-operative setting, following needle implantation, patients may be simulated with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each imaging modality and workflow provides its share of benefits and limitations. Prostate HDR has been adopted in a number of cancer centers across the nation. In this educational session, we will explore the role of U/S, CT, and MRI in HDR prostate brachytherapy. Example workflows and operational details will be shared, and we will discuss how to establish a prostate HDR program in a clinical setting. Learning Objectives: Review prostate HDR techniques based on the imaging modality Discuss the challenges and pitfalls introduced by the three imagebased options for prostate HDR brachytherapy Review the QA process and learn about the development of clinical workflows for these imaging options at different institutions.« less

Study on some useful Operators for Graph-theoretic Image Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moghani, Ali; Nasiri, Parviz

2010-11-01

In this paper we describe a human perception based approach to pixel color segmentation which applied in color reconstruction by numerical method associated with graph-theoretic image processing algorithm typically in grayscale. Fuzzy sets defined on the Hue, Saturation and Value components of the HSV color space, provide a fuzzy logic model that aims to follow the human intuition of color classification.

Fast Image Subtraction Using Multi-cores and GPUs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartung, Steven; Shukla, H.

2013-01-01

Many important image processing techniques in astronomy require a massive number of computations per pixel. Among them is an image differencing technique known as Optimal Image Subtraction (OIS), which is very useful for detecting and characterizing transient phenomena. Like many image processing routines, OIS computations increase proportionally with the number of pixels being processed, and the number of pixels in need of processing is increasing rapidly. Utilizing many-core graphical processing unit (GPU) technology in a hybrid conjunction with multi-core CPU and computer clustering technologies, this work presents a new astronomy image processing pipeline architecture. The chosen OIS implementation focuses on the 2nd order spatially-varying kernel with the Dirac delta function basis, a powerful image differencing method that has seen limited deployment in part because of the heavy computational burden. This tool can process standard image calibration and OIS differencing in a fashion that is scalable with the increasing data volume. It employs several parallel processing technologies in a hierarchical fashion in order to best utilize each of their strengths. The Linux/Unix based application can operate on a single computer, or on an MPI configured cluster, with or without GPU hardware. With GPU hardware available, even low-cost commercial video cards, the OIS convolution and subtraction times for large images can be accelerated by up to three orders of magnitude.

A back-illuminated megapixel CMOS image sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pain, Bedabrata; Cunningham, Thomas; Nikzad, Shouleh; Hoenk, Michael; Jones, Todd; Wrigley, Chris; Hancock, Bruce

2005-01-01

In this paper, we present the test and characterization results for a back-illuminated megapixel CMOS imager. The imager pixel consists of a standard junction photodiode coupled to a three transistor-per-pixel switched source-follower readout [1]. The imager also consists of integrated timing and control and bias generation circuits, and provides analog output. The analog column-scan circuits were implemented in such a way that the imager could be configured to run in off-chip correlated double-sampling (CDS) mode. The imager was originally designed for normal front-illuminated operation, and was fabricated in a commercially available 0.5 pn triple-metal CMOS-imager compatible process. For backside illumination, the imager was thinned by etching away the substrate was etched away in a post-fabrication processing step.

Development of image analysis software for quantification of viable cells in microchips.

PubMed

Georg, Maximilian; Fernández-Cabada, Tamara; Bourguignon, Natalia; Karp, Paola; Peñaherrera, Ana B; Helguera, Gustavo; Lerner, Betiana; Pérez, Maximiliano S; Mertelsmann, Roland

2018-01-01

Over the past few years, image analysis has emerged as a powerful tool for analyzing various cell biology parameters in an unprecedented and highly specific manner. The amount of data that is generated requires automated methods for the processing and analysis of all the resulting information. The software available so far are suitable for the processing of fluorescence and phase contrast images, but often do not provide good results from transmission light microscopy images, due to the intrinsic variation of the acquisition of images technique itself (adjustment of brightness / contrast, for instance) and the variability between image acquisition introduced by operators / equipment. In this contribution, it has been presented an image processing software, Python based image analysis for cell growth (PIACG), that is able to calculate the total area of the well occupied by cells with fusiform and rounded morphology in response to different concentrations of fetal bovine serum in microfluidic chips, from microscopy images in transmission light, in a highly efficient way.

[Development of an automated processing method to detect coronary motion for coronary magnetic resonance angiography].

PubMed

Asou, Hiroya; Imada, N; Sato, T

2010-06-20

On coronary MR angiography (CMRA), cardiac motions worsen the image quality. To improve the image quality, detection of cardiac especially for individual coronary motion is very important. Usually, scan delay and duration were determined manually by the operator. We developed a new evaluation method to calculate static time of individual coronary artery. At first, coronary cine MRI was taken at the level of about 3 cm below the aortic valve (80 images/R-R). Chronological change of the signals were evaluated with Fourier transformation of each pixel of the images were done. Noise reduction with subtraction process and extraction process were done. To extract higher motion such as coronary arteries, morphological filter process and labeling process were added. Using these imaging processes, individual coronary motion was extracted and individual coronary static time was calculated automatically. We compared the images with ordinary manual method and new automated method in 10 healthy volunteers. Coronary static times were calculated with our method. Calculated coronary static time was shorter than that of ordinary manual method. And scan time became about 10% longer than that of ordinary method. Image qualities were improved in our method. Our automated detection method for coronary static time with chronological Fourier transformation has a potential to improve the image quality of CMRA and easy processing.

Automatic detection of animals in mowing operations using thermal cameras.

PubMed

Steen, Kim Arild; Villa-Henriksen, Andrés; Therkildsen, Ole Roland; Green, Ole

2012-01-01

During the last decades, high-efficiency farming equipment has been developed in the agricultural sector. This has also included efficiency improvement of moving techniques, which include increased working speeds and widths. Therefore, the risk of wild animals being accidentally injured or killed during routine farming operations has increased dramatically over the years. In particular, the nests of ground nesting bird species like grey partridge (Perdix perdix) or pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) are vulnerable to farming operations in their breeding habitat, whereas in mammals, the natural instinct of e.g., leverets of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and fawns of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) to lay low and still in the vegetation to avoid predators increase their risk of being killed or injured in farming operations. Various methods and approaches have been used to reduce wildlife mortality resulting from farming operations. However, since wildlife-friendly farming often results in lower efficiency, attempts have been made to develop automatic systems capable of detecting wild animals in the crop. Here we assessed the suitability of thermal imaging in combination with digital image processing to automatically detect a chicken (Gallus domesticus) and a rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a grassland habitat. Throughout the different test scenarios, our study animals were detected with a high precision, although the most dense grass cover reduced the detection rate. We conclude that thermal imaging and digital imaging processing may be an important tool for the improvement of wildlife-friendly farming practices in the future.

Morphological-transformation-based technique of edge detection and skeletonization of an image using a single spatial light modulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munshi, Soumika; Datta, A. K.

2003-03-01

A technique of optically detecting the edge and skeleton of an image by defining shift operations for morphological transformation is described. A (2 × 2) source array, which acts as the structuring element of morphological operations, casts four angularly shifted optical projections of the input image. The resulting dilated image, when superimposed with the complementary input image, produces the edge image. For skeletonization, the source array casts four partially overlapped output images of the inverted input image, which is negated, and the resultant image is recorded in a CCD camera. This overlapped eroded image is again eroded and then dilated, producing an opened image. The difference between the eroded and opened image is then computed, resulting in a thinner image. This procedure of obtaining a thinned image is iterated until the difference image becomes zero, maintaining the connectivity conditions. The technique has been optically implemented using a single spatial modulator and has the advantage of single-instruction parallel processing of the image. The techniques have been tested both for binary and grey images.

Digital sun sensor multi-spot operation.

PubMed

Rufino, Giancarlo; Grassi, Michele

2012-11-28

The operation and test of a multi-spot digital sun sensor for precise sun-line determination is described. The image forming system consists of an opaque mask with multiple pinhole apertures producing multiple, simultaneous, spot-like images of the sun on the focal plane. The sun-line precision can be improved by averaging multiple simultaneous measures. Nevertheless, the sensor operation on a wide field of view requires acquiring and processing images in which the number of sun spots and the related intensity level are largely variable. To this end, a reliable and robust image acquisition procedure based on a variable shutter time has been considered as well as a calibration function exploiting also the knowledge of the sun-spot array size. Main focus of the present paper is the experimental validation of the wide field of view operation of the sensor by using a sensor prototype and a laboratory test facility. Results demonstrate that it is possible to keep high measurement precision also for large off-boresight angles.

Spatial Data Exploring by Satellite Image Distributed Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mihon, V. D.; Colceriu, V.; Bektas, F.; Allenbach, K.; Gvilava, M.; Gorgan, D.

2012-04-01

Our society needs and environmental predictions encourage the applications development, oriented on supervising and analyzing different Earth Science related phenomena. Satellite images could be explored for discovering information concerning land cover, hydrology, air quality, and water and soil pollution. Spatial and environment related data could be acquired by imagery classification consisting of data mining throughout the multispectral bands. The process takes in account a large set of variables such as satellite image types (e.g. MODIS, Landsat), particular geographic area, soil composition, vegetation cover, and generally the context (e.g. clouds, snow, and season). All these specific and variable conditions require flexible tools and applications to support an optimal search for the appropriate solutions, and high power computation resources. The research concerns with experiments on solutions of using the flexible and visual descriptions of the satellite image processing over distributed infrastructures (e.g. Grid, Cloud, and GPU clusters). This presentation highlights the Grid based implementation of the GreenLand application. The GreenLand application development is based on simple, but powerful, notions of mathematical operators and workflows that are used in distributed and parallel executions over the Grid infrastructure. Currently it is used in three major case studies concerning with Istanbul geographical area, Rioni River in Georgia, and Black Sea catchment region. The GreenLand application offers a friendly user interface for viewing and editing workflows and operators. The description involves the basic operators provided by GRASS [1] library as well as many other image related operators supported by the ESIP platform [2]. The processing workflows are represented as directed graphs giving the user a fast and easy way to describe complex parallel algorithms, without having any prior knowledge of any programming language or application commands. Also this Web application does not require any kind of install for what the house-hold user is concerned. It is a remote application which may be accessed over the Internet. Currently the GreenLand application is available through the BSC-OS Portal provided by the enviroGRIDS FP7 project [3]. This presentation aims to highlight the challenges and issues of flexible description of the Grid based processing of satellite images, interoperability with other software platforms available in the portal, as well as the particular requirements of the Black Sea related use cases.

MO-B-BRC-00: Prostate HDR Treatment Planning - Considering Different Imaging Modalities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

2016-06-15

Brachytherapy has proven to be an effective treatment option for prostate cancer. Initially, prostate brachytherapy was delivered through permanently implanted low dose rate (LDR) radioactive sources; however, high dose rate (HDR) temporary brachytherapy for prostate cancer is gaining popularity. Needle insertion during prostate brachytherapy is most commonly performed under ultrasound (U/S) guidance; however, treatment planning may be performed utilizing several imaging modalities either in an intra- or post-operative setting. During intra-operative prostate HDR, the needles are imaged during implantation, and planning may be performed in real time. At present, the most common imaging modality utilized for intra-operative prostate HDR ismore » U/S. Alternatively, in the post-operative setting, following needle implantation, patients may be simulated with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each imaging modality and workflow provides its share of benefits and limitations. Prostate HDR has been adopted in a number of cancer centers across the nation. In this educational session, we will explore the role of U/S, CT, and MRI in HDR prostate brachytherapy. Example workflows and operational details will be shared, and we will discuss how to establish a prostate HDR program in a clinical setting. Learning Objectives: Review prostate HDR techniques based on the imaging modality Discuss the challenges and pitfalls introduced by the three imagebased options for prostate HDR brachytherapy Review the QA process and learn about the development of clinical workflows for these imaging options at different institutions.« less

Mars Orbiter Camera Views the 'Face on Mars' - Best View from Viking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning (5 April 1998 12:39 AM PST), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully acquired a high resolution image of the 'Face on Mars' feature in the Cydonia region. The image was transmitted to Earth on Sunday, and retrieved from the mission computer data base Monday morning (6 April 1998). The image was processed at the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) facility 9:15 AM and the raw image immediately transferred to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for release to the Internet. The images shown here were subsequently processed at MSSS.

The picture was acquired 375 seconds after the spacecraft's 220th close approach to Mars. At that time, the 'Face', located at approximately 40.8o N, 9.6o W, was 275 miles (444 km) from the spacecraft. The 'morning' sun was 25o above the horizon. The picture has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's. The full image covers an area 2.7 miles (4.4 km) wide and 25.7 miles (41.5 km) long.

This Viking Orbiter image is one of the best Viking pictures of the area Cydonia where the 'Face' is located. Marked on the image are the 'footprint' of the high resolution (narrow angle) Mars Orbiter Camera image and the area seen in enlarged views (dashed box). See PIA01440-1442 for these images in raw and processed form.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

The increasing influence of medical image processing in clinical neuroimaging.

PubMed

Barillot, Christian

2007-01-20

This paper review the evolution of clinical neuroinformatics domain in the passed and gives an outlook how this research field will evolve in clinical neurology (e.g. Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Dementia) and neurosurgery (e.g. image guided surgery, intra-operative imaging, the definition of the Operation Room of the future). These different issues, as addressed by the VisAGeS research team, are discussed in more details and the benefits of a close collaboration between clinical scientists (radiologist, neurologist and neurosurgeon) and computer scientists are shown to give adequate answers to the series of problems which needs to be solved for a more effective use of medical images in clinical neurosciences.

Analysis of straw row in the image to control the trajectory of the agricultural combine harvester

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shkanaev, Aleksandr Yurievich; Polevoy, Dmitry Valerevich; Panchenko, Aleksei Vladimirovich; Krokhina, Darya Alekseevna; Nailevish, Sadekov Rinat

2018-04-01

The paper proposes a solution to the automatic operation of the combine harvester along the straw rows by means of the images from the camera, installed in the cab of the harvester. The U-Net is used to recognize straw rows in the image. The edges of the row are approximated in the segmented image by the curved lines and further converted into the harvester coordinate system for the automatic operating system. The "new" network architecture and approaches to the row approximation has improved the quality of the recognition task and the processing speed of the frames up to 96% and 7.5 fps, respectively. Keywords: Grain harvester,

Quantitative assessment of the impact of biomedical image acquisition on the results obtained from image analysis and processing.

PubMed

Koprowski, Robert

2014-07-04

Dedicated, automatic algorithms for image analysis and processing are becoming more and more common in medical diagnosis. When creating dedicated algorithms, many factors must be taken into consideration. They are associated with selecting the appropriate algorithm parameters and taking into account the impact of data acquisition on the results obtained. An important feature of algorithms is the possibility of their use in other medical units by other operators. This problem, namely operator's (acquisition) impact on the results obtained from image analysis and processing, has been shown on a few examples. The analysed images were obtained from a variety of medical devices such as thermal imaging, tomography devices and those working in visible light. The objects of imaging were cellular elements, the anterior segment and fundus of the eye, postural defects and others. In total, almost 200'000 images coming from 8 different medical units were analysed. All image analysis algorithms were implemented in C and Matlab. For various algorithms and methods of medical imaging, the impact of image acquisition on the results obtained is different. There are different levels of algorithm sensitivity to changes in the parameters, for example: (1) for microscope settings and the brightness assessment of cellular elements there is a difference of 8%; (2) for the thyroid ultrasound images there is a difference in marking the thyroid lobe area which results in a brightness assessment difference of 2%. The method of image acquisition in image analysis and processing also affects: (3) the accuracy of determining the temperature in the characteristic areas on the patient's back for the thermal method - error of 31%; (4) the accuracy of finding characteristic points in photogrammetric images when evaluating postural defects - error of 11%; (5) the accuracy of performing ablative and non-ablative treatments in cosmetology - error of 18% for the nose, 10% for the cheeks, and 7% for the forehead. Similarly, when: (7) measuring the anterior eye chamber - there is an error of 20%; (8) measuring the tooth enamel thickness - error of 15%; (9) evaluating the mechanical properties of the cornea during pressure measurement - error of 47%. The paper presents vital, selected issues occurring when assessing the accuracy of designed automatic algorithms for image analysis and processing in bioengineering. The impact of acquisition of images on the problems arising in their analysis has been shown on selected examples. It has also been indicated to which elements of image analysis and processing special attention should be paid in their design.

An automatic panoramic image reconstruction scheme from dental computed tomography images

PubMed Central

Papakosta, Thekla K; Savva, Antonis D; Economopoulos, Theodore L; Gröhndal, H G

2017-01-01

Objectives: Panoramic images of the jaws are extensively used for dental examinations and/or surgical planning because they provide a general overview of the patient's maxillary and mandibular regions. Panoramic images are two-dimensional projections of three-dimensional (3D) objects. Therefore, it should be possible to reconstruct them from 3D radiographic representations of the jaws, produced by CBCT scanning, obviating the need for additional exposure to X-rays, should there be a need of panoramic views. The aim of this article is to present an automated method for reconstructing panoramic dental images from CBCT data. Methods: The proposed methodology consists of a series of sequential processing stages for detecting a fitting dental arch which is used for projecting the 3D information of the CBCT data to the two-dimensional plane of the panoramic image. The detection is based on a template polynomial which is constructed from a training data set. Results: A total of 42 CBCT data sets of real clinical pre-operative and post-operative representations from 21 patients were used. Eight data sets were used for training the system and the rest for testing. Conclusions: The proposed methodology was successfully applied to CBCT data sets, producing corresponding panoramic images, suitable for examining pre-operatively and post-operatively the patients' maxillary and mandibular regions. PMID:28112548

The optimal algorithm for Multi-source RS image fusion.

PubMed

Fu, Wei; Huang, Shui-Guang; Li, Zeng-Shun; Shen, Hao; Li, Jun-Shuai; Wang, Peng-Yuan

2016-01-01

In order to solve the issue which the fusion rules cannot be self-adaptively adjusted by using available fusion methods according to the subsequent processing requirements of Remote Sensing (RS) image, this paper puts forward GSDA (genetic-iterative self-organizing data analysis algorithm) by integrating the merit of genetic arithmetic together with the advantage of iterative self-organizing data analysis algorithm for multi-source RS image fusion. The proposed algorithm considers the wavelet transform of the translation invariance as the model operator, also regards the contrast pyramid conversion as the observed operator. The algorithm then designs the objective function by taking use of the weighted sum of evaluation indices, and optimizes the objective function by employing GSDA so as to get a higher resolution of RS image. As discussed above, the bullet points of the text are summarized as follows.•The contribution proposes the iterative self-organizing data analysis algorithm for multi-source RS image fusion.•This article presents GSDA algorithm for the self-adaptively adjustment of the fusion rules.•This text comes up with the model operator and the observed operator as the fusion scheme of RS image based on GSDA. The proposed algorithm opens up a novel algorithmic pathway for multi-source RS image fusion by means of GSDA.

Comparison of two SVD-based color image compression schemes.

PubMed

Li, Ying; Wei, Musheng; Zhang, Fengxia; Zhao, Jianli

2017-01-01

Color image compression is a commonly used process to represent image data as few bits as possible, which removes redundancy in the data while maintaining an appropriate level of quality for the user. Color image compression algorithms based on quaternion are very common in recent years. In this paper, we propose a color image compression scheme, based on the real SVD, named real compression scheme. First, we form a new real rectangular matrix C according to the red, green and blue components of the original color image and perform the real SVD for C. Then we select several largest singular values and the corresponding vectors in the left and right unitary matrices to compress the color image. We compare the real compression scheme with quaternion compression scheme by performing quaternion SVD using the real structure-preserving algorithm. We compare the two schemes in terms of operation amount, assignment number, operation speed, PSNR and CR. The experimental results show that with the same numbers of selected singular values, the real compression scheme offers higher CR, much less operation time, but a little bit smaller PSNR than the quaternion compression scheme. When these two schemes have the same CR, the real compression scheme shows more prominent advantages both on the operation time and PSNR.

Comparison of two SVD-based color image compression schemes

PubMed Central

Li, Ying; Wei, Musheng; Zhang, Fengxia; Zhao, Jianli

2017-01-01

Color image compression is a commonly used process to represent image data as few bits as possible, which removes redundancy in the data while maintaining an appropriate level of quality for the user. Color image compression algorithms based on quaternion are very common in recent years. In this paper, we propose a color image compression scheme, based on the real SVD, named real compression scheme. First, we form a new real rectangular matrix C according to the red, green and blue components of the original color image and perform the real SVD for C. Then we select several largest singular values and the corresponding vectors in the left and right unitary matrices to compress the color image. We compare the real compression scheme with quaternion compression scheme by performing quaternion SVD using the real structure-preserving algorithm. We compare the two schemes in terms of operation amount, assignment number, operation speed, PSNR and CR. The experimental results show that with the same numbers of selected singular values, the real compression scheme offers higher CR, much less operation time, but a little bit smaller PSNR than the quaternion compression scheme. When these two schemes have the same CR, the real compression scheme shows more prominent advantages both on the operation time and PSNR. PMID:28257451

Advanced Land Imager Assessment System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chander, Gyanesh; Choate, Mike; Christopherson, Jon; Hollaren, Doug; Morfitt, Ron; Nelson, Jim; Nelson, Shar; Storey, James; Helder, Dennis; Ruggles, Tim;

Method for growing a back surface contact on an imaging detector used in conjunction with back illumination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blacksberg, Jordana (Inventor); Hoenk, Michael Eugene (Inventor); Nikzad, Shouleh (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A method is provided for growing a back surface contact on an imaging detector used in conjunction with back illumination. In operation, an imaging detector is provided. Additionally, a back surface contact (e.g. a delta-doped layer, etc.) is grown on the imaging detector utilizing a process that is performed at a temperature less than 450 degrees Celsius.

Two dimensional recursive digital filters for near real time image processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, D.; Sherrod, E.

1980-01-01

A program was designed toward the demonstration of the feasibility of using two dimensional recursive digital filters for subjective image processing applications that require rapid turn around. The concept of the use of a dedicated minicomputer for the processor for this application was demonstrated. The minicomputer used was the HP1000 series E with a RTE 2 disc operating system and 32K words of memory. A Grinnel 256 x 512 x 8 bit display system was used to display the images. Sample images were provided by NASA Goddard on a 800 BPI, 9 track tape. Four 512 x 512 images representing 4 spectral regions of the same scene were provided. These images were filtered with enhancement filters developed during this effort.

Low-cost, high-speed back-end processing system for high-frequency ultrasound B-mode imaging.

PubMed

Chang, Jin Ho; Sun, Lei; Yen, Jesse T; Shung, K Kirk

2009-07-01

For real-time visualization of the mouse heart (6 to 13 beats per second), a back-end processing system involving high-speed signal processing functions to form and display images has been developed. This back-end system was designed with new signal processing algorithms to achieve a frame rate of more than 400 images per second. These algorithms were implemented in a simple and cost-effective manner with a single field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and software programs written in C++. The operating speed of the back-end system was investigated by recording the time required for transferring an image to a personal computer. Experimental results showed that the back-end system is capable of producing 433 images per second. To evaluate the imaging performance of the back-end system, a complete imaging system was built. This imaging system, which consisted of a recently reported high-speed mechanical sector scanner assembled with the back-end system, was tested by imaging a wire phantom, a pig eye (in vitro), and a mouse heart (in vivo). It was shown that this system is capable of providing high spatial resolution images with fast temporal resolution.

Low-Cost, High-Speed Back-End Processing System for High-Frequency Ultrasound B-Mode Imaging

PubMed Central

Chang, Jin Ho; Sun, Lei; Yen, Jesse T.; Shung, K. Kirk

2009-01-01

For real-time visualization of the mouse heart (6 to 13 beats per second), a back-end processing system involving high-speed signal processing functions to form and display images has been developed. This back-end system was designed with new signal processing algorithms to achieve a frame rate of more than 400 images per second. These algorithms were implemented in a simple and cost-effective manner with a single field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and software programs written in C++. The operating speed of the back-end system was investigated by recording the time required for transferring an image to a personal computer. Experimental results showed that the back-end system is capable of producing 433 images per second. To evaluate the imaging performance of the back-end system, a complete imaging system was built. This imaging system, which consisted of a recently reported high-speed mechanical sector scanner assembled with the back-end system, was tested by imaging a wire phantom, a pig eye (in vitro), and a mouse heart (in vivo). It was shown that this system is capable of providing high spatial resolution images with fast temporal resolution. PMID:19574160

Theoretical foundations of spatially-variant mathematical morphology part ii: gray-level images.

PubMed

Bouaynaya, Nidhal; Schonfeld, Dan

2008-05-01

In this paper, we develop a spatially-variant (SV) mathematical morphology theory for gray-level signals and images in the Euclidean space. The proposed theory preserves the geometrical concept of the structuring function, which provides the foundation of classical morphology and is essential in signal and image processing applications. We define the basic SV gray-level morphological operators (i.e., SV gray-level erosion, dilation, opening, and closing) and investigate their properties. We demonstrate the ubiquity of SV gray-level morphological systems by deriving a kernel representation for a large class of systems, called V-systems, in terms of the basic SV graylevel morphological operators. A V-system is defined to be a gray-level operator, which is invariant under gray-level (vertical) translations. Particular attention is focused on the class of SV flat gray-level operators. The kernel representation for increasing V-systems is a generalization of Maragos' kernel representation for increasing and translation-invariant function-processing systems. A representation of V-systems in terms of their kernel elements is established for increasing and upper-semi-continuous V-systems. This representation unifies a large class of spatially-variant linear and non-linear systems under the same mathematical framework. Finally, simulation results show the potential power of the general theory of gray-level spatially-variant mathematical morphology in several image analysis and computer vision applications.

Client-side Medical Image Colorization in a Collaborative Environment.

PubMed

Virag, Ioan; Stoicu-Tivadar, Lăcrămioara; Crişan-Vida, Mihaela

2015-01-01

The paper presents an application related to collaborative medicine using a browser based medical visualization system with focus on the medical image colorization process and the underlying open source web development technologies involved. Browser based systems allow physicians to share medical data with their remotely located counterparts or medical students, assisting them during patient diagnosis, treatment monitoring, surgery planning or for educational purposes. This approach brings forth the advantage of ubiquity. The system can be accessed from a any device, in order to process the images, assuring the independence towards having a specific proprietary operating system. The current work starts with processing of DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) files and ends with the rendering of the resulting bitmap images on a HTML5 (fifth revision of the HyperText Markup Language) canvas element. The application improves the image visualization emphasizing different tissue densities.

Cellular Neural Network for Real Time Image Processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vagliasindi, G.; Arena, P.; Fortuna, L.

2008-03-12

Since their introduction in 1988, Cellular Nonlinear Networks (CNNs) have found a key role as image processing instruments. Thanks to their structure they are able of processing individual pixels in a parallel way providing fast image processing capabilities that has been applied to a wide range of field among which nuclear fusion. In the last years, indeed, visible and infrared video cameras have become more and more important in tokamak fusion experiments for the twofold aim of understanding the physics and monitoring the safety of the operation. Examining the output of these cameras in real-time can provide significant information formore » plasma control and safety of the machines. The potentiality of CNNs can be exploited to this aim. To demonstrate the feasibility of the approach, CNN image processing has been applied to several tasks both at the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) and the Joint European Torus (JET)« less

Green's function and image system for the Laplace operator in the prolate spheroidal geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Changfeng; Deng, Shaozhong

2017-01-01

In the present paper, electrostatic image theory is studied for Green's function for the Laplace operator in the case where the fundamental domain is either the exterior or the interior of a prolate spheroid. In either case, an image system is developed to consist of a point image inside the complement of the fundamental domain and an additional symmetric continuous surface image over a confocal prolate spheroid outside the fundamental domain, although the process of calculating such an image system is easier for the exterior than for the interior Green's function. The total charge of the surface image is zero and its centroid is at the origin of the prolate spheroid. In addition, if the source is on the focal axis outside the prolate spheroid, then the image system of the exterior Green's function consists of a point image on the focal axis and a line image on the line segment between the two focal points.

Mass Detection in Mammographic Images Using Wavelet Processing and Adaptive Threshold Technique.

PubMed

Vikhe, P S; Thool, V R

2016-04-01

Detection of mass in mammogram for early diagnosis of breast cancer is a significant assignment in the reduction of the mortality rate. However, in some cases, screening of mass is difficult task for radiologist, due to variation in contrast, fuzzy edges and noisy mammograms. Masses and micro-calcifications are the distinctive signs for diagnosis of breast cancer. This paper presents, a method for mass enhancement using piecewise linear operator in combination with wavelet processing from mammographic images. The method includes, artifact suppression and pectoral muscle removal based on morphological operations. Finally, mass segmentation for detection using adaptive threshold technique is carried out to separate the mass from background. The proposed method has been tested on 130 (45 + 85) images with 90.9 and 91 % True Positive Fraction (TPF) at 2.35 and 2.1 average False Positive Per Image(FP/I) from two different databases, namely Mammographic Image Analysis Society (MIAS) and Digital Database for Screening Mammography (DDSM). The obtained results show that, the proposed technique gives improved diagnosis in the early breast cancer detection.

Singular value decomposition for photon-processing nuclear imaging systems and applications for reconstruction and computing null functions.

PubMed

Jha, Abhinav K; Barrett, Harrison H; Frey, Eric C; Clarkson, Eric; Caucci, Luca; Kupinski, Matthew A

2015-09-21

Recent advances in technology are enabling a new class of nuclear imaging systems consisting of detectors that use real-time maximum-likelihood (ML) methods to estimate the interaction position, deposited energy, and other attributes of each photon-interaction event and store these attributes in a list format. This class of systems, which we refer to as photon-processing (PP) nuclear imaging systems, can be described by a fundamentally different mathematical imaging operator that allows processing of the continuous-valued photon attributes on a per-photon basis. Unlike conventional photon-counting (PC) systems that bin the data into images, PP systems do not have any binning-related information loss. Mathematically, while PC systems have an infinite-dimensional null space due to dimensionality considerations, PP systems do not necessarily suffer from this issue. Therefore, PP systems have the potential to provide improved performance in comparison to PC systems. To study these advantages, we propose a framework to perform the singular-value decomposition (SVD) of the PP imaging operator. We use this framework to perform the SVD of operators that describe a general two-dimensional (2D) planar linear shift-invariant (LSIV) PP system and a hypothetical continuously rotating 2D single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) PP system. We then discuss two applications of the SVD framework. The first application is to decompose the object being imaged by the PP imaging system into measurement and null components. We compare these components to the measurement and null components obtained with PC systems. In the process, we also present a procedure to compute the null functions for a PC system. The second application is designing analytical reconstruction algorithms for PP systems. The proposed analytical approach exploits the fact that PP systems acquire data in a continuous domain to estimate a continuous object function. The approach is parallelizable and implemented for graphics processing units (GPUs). Further, this approach leverages another important advantage of PP systems, namely the possibility to perform photon-by-photon real-time reconstruction. We demonstrate the application of the approach to perform reconstruction in a simulated 2D SPECT system. The results help to validate and demonstrate the utility of the proposed method and show that PP systems can help overcome the aliasing artifacts that are otherwise intrinsically present in PC systems.

Singular value decomposition for photon-processing nuclear imaging systems and applications for reconstruction and computing null functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jha, Abhinav K.; Barrett, Harrison H.; Frey, Eric C.; Clarkson, Eric; Caucci, Luca; Kupinski, Matthew A.

2015-09-01

Recent advances in technology are enabling a new class of nuclear imaging systems consisting of detectors that use real-time maximum-likelihood (ML) methods to estimate the interaction position, deposited energy, and other attributes of each photon-interaction event and store these attributes in a list format. This class of systems, which we refer to as photon-processing (PP) nuclear imaging systems, can be described by a fundamentally different mathematical imaging operator that allows processing of the continuous-valued photon attributes on a per-photon basis. Unlike conventional photon-counting (PC) systems that bin the data into images, PP systems do not have any binning-related information loss. Mathematically, while PC systems have an infinite-dimensional null space due to dimensionality considerations, PP systems do not necessarily suffer from this issue. Therefore, PP systems have the potential to provide improved performance in comparison to PC systems. To study these advantages, we propose a framework to perform the singular-value decomposition (SVD) of the PP imaging operator. We use this framework to perform the SVD of operators that describe a general two-dimensional (2D) planar linear shift-invariant (LSIV) PP system and a hypothetical continuously rotating 2D single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) PP system. We then discuss two applications of the SVD framework. The first application is to decompose the object being imaged by the PP imaging system into measurement and null components. We compare these components to the measurement and null components obtained with PC systems. In the process, we also present a procedure to compute the null functions for a PC system. The second application is designing analytical reconstruction algorithms for PP systems. The proposed analytical approach exploits the fact that PP systems acquire data in a continuous domain to estimate a continuous object function. The approach is parallelizable and implemented for graphics processing units (GPUs). Further, this approach leverages another important advantage of PP systems, namely the possibility to perform photon-by-photon real-time reconstruction. We demonstrate the application of the approach to perform reconstruction in a simulated 2D SPECT system. The results help to validate and demonstrate the utility of the proposed method and show that PP systems can help overcome the aliasing artifacts that are otherwise intrinsically present in PC systems.

Intraoperative cerebral blood flow imaging of rodents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hangdao; Li, Yao; Yuan, Lu; Wu, Caihong; Lu, Hongyang; Tong, Shanbao

2014-09-01

Intraoperative monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) is of interest to neuroscience researchers, which offers the assessment of hemodynamic responses throughout the process of neurosurgery and provides an early biomarker for surgical guidance. However, intraoperative CBF imaging has been challenging due to animal's motion and position change during the surgery. In this paper, we presented a design of an operation bench integrated with laser speckle contrast imager which enables monitoring of the CBF intraoperatively. With a specially designed stereotaxic frame and imager, we were able to monitor the CBF changes in both hemispheres during the rodent surgery. The rotatable design of the operation plate and implementation of online image registration allow the technician to move the animal without disturbing the CBF imaging during surgery. The performance of the system was tested by middle cerebral artery occlusion model of rats.

A method to perform a fast fourier transform with primitive image transformations.

PubMed

Sheridan, Phil

2007-05-01

The Fourier transform is one of the most important transformations in image processing. A major component of this influence comes from the ability to implement it efficiently on a digital computer. This paper describes a new methodology to perform a fast Fourier transform (FFT). This methodology emerges from considerations of the natural physical constraints imposed by image capture devices (camera/eye). The novel aspects of the specific FFT method described include: 1) a bit-wise reversal re-grouping operation of the conventional FFT is replaced by the use of lossless image rotation and scaling and 2) the usual arithmetic operations of complex multiplication are replaced with integer addition. The significance of the FFT presented in this paper is introduced by extending a discrete and finite image algebra, named Spiral Honeycomb Image Algebra (SHIA), to a continuous version, named SHIAC.

TIA Software User's Manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, K. Elliott; Syed, Hazari I.

1995-01-01

This user's manual describes the installation and operation of TIA, the Thermal-Imaging acquisition and processing Application, developed by the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. TIA is a user friendly graphical interface application for the Macintosh 2 and higher series computers. The software has been developed to interface with the Perceptics/Westinghouse Pixelpipe(TM) and PixelStore(TM) NuBus cards and the GW Instruments MacADIOS(TM) input-output (I/O) card for the Macintosh for imaging thermal data. The software is also capable of performing generic image-processing functions.

Image processing improvement for optical observations of space debris with the TAROT telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiebaut, C.; Theron, S.; Richard, P.; Blanchet, G.; Klotz, A.; Boër, M.

2016-07-01

CNES is involved in the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) and is observing space debris with two robotic ground based fully automated telescopes called TAROT and operated by the CNRS. An image processing algorithm devoted to debris detection in geostationary orbit is implemented in the standard pipeline. Nevertheless, this algorithm is unable to deal with debris tracking mode images, this mode being the preferred one for debris detectability. We present an algorithm improvement for this mode and give results in terms of false detection rate.

Fuzzy Matching Based on Gray-scale Difference for Quantum Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, GaoFeng; Zhou, Ri-Gui; Liu, XingAo; Hu, WenWen; Luo, Jia

2018-05-01

Quantum image processing has recently emerged as an essential problem in practical tasks, e.g. real-time image matching. Previous studies have shown that the superposition and entanglement of quantum can greatly improve the efficiency of complex image processing. In this paper, a fuzzy quantum image matching scheme based on gray-scale difference is proposed to find out the target region in a reference image, which is very similar to the template image. Firstly, we employ the proposed enhanced quantum representation (NEQR) to store digital images. Then some certain quantum operations are used to evaluate the gray-scale difference between two quantum images by thresholding. If all of the obtained gray-scale differences are not greater than the threshold value, it indicates a successful fuzzy matching of quantum images. Theoretical analysis and experiments show that the proposed scheme performs fuzzy matching at a low cost and also enables exponentially significant speedup via quantum parallel computation.

Onboard spectral imager data processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otten, Leonard J.; Meigs, Andrew D.; Franklin, Abraham J.; Sears, Robert D.; Robison, Mark W.; Rafert, J. Bruce; Fronterhouse, Donald C.; Grotbeck, Ronald L.

1999-10-01

Previous papers have described the concept behind the MightySat II.1 program, the satellite's Fourier Transform imaging spectrometer's optical design, the design for the spectral imaging payload, and its initial qualification testing. This paper discusses the on board data processing designed to reduce the amount of downloaded data by an order of magnitude and provide a demonstration of a smart spaceborne spectral imaging sensor. Two custom components, a spectral imager interface 6U VME card that moves data at over 30 MByte/sec, and four TI C-40 processors mounted to a second 6U VME and daughter card, are used to adapt the sensor to the spacecraft and provide the necessary high speed processing. A system architecture that offers both on board real time image processing and high-speed post data collection analysis of the spectral data has been developed. In addition to the on board processing of the raw data into a usable spectral data volume, one feature extraction technique has been incorporated. This algorithm operates on the basic interferometric data. The algorithm is integrated within the data compression process to search for uploadable feature descriptions.

Quantifying Vegetation Biophysical Variables from Imaging Spectroscopy Data: A Review on Retrieval Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verrelst, Jochem; Malenovský, Zbyněk; Van der Tol, Christiaan; Camps-Valls, Gustau; Gastellu-Etchegorry, Jean-Philippe; Lewis, Philip; North, Peter; Moreno, Jose

2018-06-01

An unprecedented spectroscopic data stream will soon become available with forthcoming Earth-observing satellite missions equipped with imaging spectroradiometers. This data stream will open up a vast array of opportunities to quantify a diversity of biochemical and structural vegetation properties. The processing requirements for such large data streams require reliable retrieval techniques enabling the spatiotemporally explicit quantification of biophysical variables. With the aim of preparing for this new era of Earth observation, this review summarizes the state-of-the-art retrieval methods that have been applied in experimental imaging spectroscopy studies inferring all kinds of vegetation biophysical variables. Identified retrieval methods are categorized into: (1) parametric regression, including vegetation indices, shape indices and spectral transformations; (2) nonparametric regression, including linear and nonlinear machine learning regression algorithms; (3) physically based, including inversion of radiative transfer models (RTMs) using numerical optimization and look-up table approaches; and (4) hybrid regression methods, which combine RTM simulations with machine learning regression methods. For each of these categories, an overview of widely applied methods with application to mapping vegetation properties is given. In view of processing imaging spectroscopy data, a critical aspect involves the challenge of dealing with spectral multicollinearity. The ability to provide robust estimates, retrieval uncertainties and acceptable retrieval processing speed are other important aspects in view of operational processing. Recommendations towards new-generation spectroscopy-based processing chains for operational production of biophysical variables are given.

First Steps Toward Incorporating Image Based Diagnostics Into Particle Accelerator Control Systems Using Convolutional Neural Networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edelen, A. L.; Biedron, S. G.; Milton, S. V.

At present, a variety of image-based diagnostics are used in particle accelerator systems. Often times, these are viewed by a human operator who then makes appropriate adjustments to the machine. Given recent advances in using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for image processing, it should be possible to use image diagnostics directly in control routines (NN-based or otherwise). This is especially appealing for non-intercepting diagnostics that could run continuously during beam operation. Here, we show results of a first step toward implementing such a controller: our trained CNN can predict multiple simulated downstream beam parameters at the Fermilab Accelerator Science andmore » Technology (FAST) facility's low energy beamline using simulated virtual cathode laser images, gun phases, and solenoid strengths.« less

Operational Analysis of Time-Optimal Maneuvering for Imaging Spacecraft

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

imaging spacecraft. The analysis is facilitated through the use of AGI’s Systems Tool Kit ( STK ) software. An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based...the Singapore-developed X-SAT imaging spacecraft. The analysis is facilitated through the use of AGI’s Systems Tool Kit ( STK ) software. An Analytic...89  B.  FUTURE WORK................................................................................. 90  APPENDIX A. STK DATA AND BENEFIT

Research on image retrieval using deep convolutional neural network combining L1 regularization and PRelu activation function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

QingJie, Wei; WenBin, Wang

2017-06-01

In this paper, the image retrieval using deep convolutional neural network combined with regularization and PRelu activation function is studied, and improves image retrieval accuracy. Deep convolutional neural network can not only simulate the process of human brain to receive and transmit information, but also contains a convolution operation, which is very suitable for processing images. Using deep convolutional neural network is better than direct extraction of image visual features for image retrieval. However, the structure of deep convolutional neural network is complex, and it is easy to over-fitting and reduces the accuracy of image retrieval. In this paper, we combine L1 regularization and PRelu activation function to construct a deep convolutional neural network to prevent over-fitting of the network and improve the accuracy of image retrieval

Aortic annulus sizing using watershed transform and morphological approach for CT images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammad, Norhasmira; Omar, Zaid; Sahrim, Mus'ab

2018-02-01

Aortic valve disease occurs due to calcification deposits on the area of leaflets within the human heart. It is progressive over time where it can affect the mechanism of the heart valve. To avoid the risk of surgery for vulnerable patients especially senior citizens, a new method has been introduced: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), which places a synthetic catheter within the patient's valve. This entails a procedure of aortic annulus sizing, which requires manual measurement of the scanned images acquired from Computed Tomographic (CT) by experts. The step requires intensive efforts, though human error may still eventually lead to false measurement. In this research, image processing techniques are implemented onto cardiac CT images to achieve an automated and accurate measurement of the heart annulus. The image is first put through pre-processing for noise filtration and image enhancement. Then, a marker image is computed using the combination of opening and closing operations where the foreground image is marked as a feature while the background image is set to zero. Marker image is used to control the watershed transformation and also to prevent oversegmentation. This transformation has the advantage of fast computational and oversegmentation problems, which usually appear with the watershed transform can be solved with the introduction of marker image. Finally, the measurement of aortic annulus from the image data is obtained through morphological operations. Results affirm the approach's ability to achieve accurate annulus measurements compared to conventional techniques.

Automated Formosat Image Processing System for Rapid Response to International Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, M. C.; Chou, S. C.; Chen, Y. C.; Chen, B.; Liu, C.; Yu, S. J.

2016-06-01

FORMOSAT-2, Taiwan's first remote sensing satellite, was successfully launched in May of 2004 into the Sun-synchronous orbit at 891 kilometers of altitude. With the daily revisit feature, the 2-m panchromatic, 8-m multi-spectral resolution images captured have been used for researches and operations in various societal benefit areas. This paper details the orchestration of various tasks conducted in different institutions in Taiwan in the efforts responding to international disasters. The institutes involved including its space agency-National Space Organization (NSPO), Center for Satellite Remote Sensing Research of National Central University, GIS Center of Feng-Chia University, and the National Center for High-performance Computing. Since each institution has its own mandate, the coordinated tasks ranged from receiving emergency observation requests, scheduling and tasking of satellite operation, downlink to ground stations, images processing including data injection, ortho-rectification, to delivery of image products. With the lessons learned from working with international partners, the FORMOSAT Image Processing System has been extensively automated and streamlined with a goal to shorten the time between request and delivery in an efficient manner. The integrated team has developed an Application Interface to its system platform that provides functions of search in archive catalogue, request of data services, mission planning, inquiry of services status, and image download. This automated system enables timely image acquisition and substantially increases the value of data product. Example outcome of these efforts in recent response to support Sentinel Asia in Nepal Earthquake is demonstrated herein.

A spectral image processing algorithm for evaluating the influence of the illuminants on the reconstructed reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toadere, Florin

2017-12-01

A spectral image processing algorithm that allows the illumination of the scene with different illuminants together with the reconstruction of the scene's reflectance is presented. Color checker spectral image and CIE A (warm light 2700 K), D65 (cold light 6500 K) and Cree TW Series LED T8 (4000 K) are employed for scene illumination. Illuminants used in the simulations have different spectra and, as a result of their illumination, the colors of the scene change. The influence of the illuminants on the reconstruction of the scene's reflectance is estimated. Demonstrative images and reflectance showing the operation of the algorithm are illustrated.

Gamma-Ray Imaging Probes.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wild, Walter James

1988-12-01

External nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging of early primary and metastatic lung cancer tumors is difficult due to the poor sensitivity and resolution of existing gamma cameras. Nonimaging counting detectors used for internal tumor detection give ambiguous results because distant background variations are difficult to discriminate from neighboring tumor sites. This suggests that an internal imaging nuclear medicine probe, particularly an esophageal probe, may be advantageously used to detect small tumors because of the ability to discriminate against background variations and the capability to get close to sites neighboring the esophagus. The design, theory of operation, preliminary bench tests, characterization of noise behavior and optimization of such an imaging probe is the central theme of this work. The central concept lies in the representation of the aperture shell by a sequence of binary digits. This, coupled with the mode of operation which is data encoding within an axial slice of space, leads to the fundamental imaging equation in which the coding operation is conveniently described by a circulant matrix operator. The coding/decoding process is a classic coded-aperture problem, and various estimators to achieve decoding are discussed. Some estimators require a priori information about the object (or object class) being imaged; the only unbiased estimator that does not impose this requirement is the simple inverse-matrix operator. The effects of noise on the estimate (or reconstruction) is discussed for general noise models and various codes/decoding operators. The choice of an optimal aperture for detector count times of clinical relevance is examined using a statistical class-separability formalism.

SAVA 3: A testbed for integration and control of visual processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crowley, James L.; Christensen, Henrik

1994-01-01

The development of an experimental test-bed to investigate the integration and control of perception in a continuously operating vision system is described. The test-bed integrates a 12 axis robotic stereo camera head mounted on a mobile robot, dedicated computer boards for real-time image acquisition and processing, and a distributed system for image description. The architecture was designed to: (1) be continuously operating, (2) integrate software contributions from geographically dispersed laboratories, (3) integrate description of the environment with 2D measurements, 3D models, and recognition of objects, (4) capable of supporting diverse experiments in gaze control, visual servoing, navigation, and object surveillance, and (5) dynamically reconfiguarable.

The JPL/KSC telerobotic inspection demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mittman, David; Bon, Bruce; Collins, Carol; Fleischer, Gerry; Litwin, Todd; Morrison, Jack; Omeara, Jacquie; Peters, Stephen; Brogdon, John; Humeniuk, Bob

1990-01-01

An ASEA IRB90 robotic manipulator with attached inspection cameras was moved through a Space Shuttle Payload Assist Module (PAM) Cradle under computer control. The Operator and Operator Control Station, including graphics simulation, gross-motion spatial planning, and machine vision processing, were located at JPL. The Safety and Support personnel, PAM Cradle, IRB90, and image acquisition system, were stationed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Images captured at KSC were used both for processing by a machine vision system at JPL, and for inspection by the JPL Operator. The system found collision-free paths through the PAM Cradle, demonstrated accurate knowledge of the location of both objects of interest and obstacles, and operated with a communication delay of two seconds. Safe operation of the IRB90 near Shuttle flight hardware was obtained both through the use of a gross-motion spatial planner developed at JPL using artificial intelligence techniques, and infrared beams and pressure sensitive strips mounted to the critical surfaces of the flight hardward at KSC. The Demonstration showed that telerobotics is effective for real tasks, safe for personnel and hardware, and highly productive and reliable for Shuttle payload operations and Space Station external operations.

Information theoretic analysis of edge detection in visual communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Bo; Rahman, Zia-ur

2010-08-01

Generally, the designs of digital image processing algorithms and image gathering devices remain separate. Consequently, the performance of digital image processing algorithms is evaluated without taking into account the artifacts introduced into the process by the image gathering process. However, experiments show that the image gathering process profoundly impacts the performance of digital image processing and the quality of the resulting images. Huck et al. proposed one definitive theoretic analysis of visual communication channels, where the different parts, such as image gathering, processing, and display, are assessed in an integrated manner using Shannon's information theory. In this paper, we perform an end-to-end information theory based system analysis to assess edge detection methods. We evaluate the performance of the different algorithms as a function of the characteristics of the scene, and the parameters, such as sampling, additive noise etc., that define the image gathering system. The edge detection algorithm is regarded to have high performance only if the information rate from the scene to the edge approaches the maximum possible. This goal can be achieved only by jointly optimizing all processes. People generally use subjective judgment to compare different edge detection methods. There is not a common tool that can be used to evaluate the performance of the different algorithms, and to give people a guide for selecting the best algorithm for a given system or scene. Our information-theoretic assessment becomes this new tool to which allows us to compare the different edge detection operators in a common environment.

Optical correlators for automated rendezvous and capture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juday, Richard D.

1991-01-01

The paper begins with a description of optical correlation. In this process, the propagation physics of coherent light is used to process images and extract information. The processed image is operated on as an area, rather than as a collection of points. An essentially instantaneous convolution is performed on that image to provide the sensory data. In this process, an image is sensed and encoded onto a coherent wavefront, and the propagation is arranged to create a bright spot of the image to match a model of the desired object. The brightness of the spot provides an indication of the degree of resemblance of the viewed image to the mode, and the location of the bright spot provides pointing information. The process can be utilized for AR&C to achieve the capability to identify objects among known reference types, estimate the object's location and orientation, and interact with the control system. System characteristics (speed, robustness, accuracy, small form factors) are adequate to meet most requirements. The correlator exploits the fact that Bosons and Fermions pass through each other. Since the image source is input as an electronic data set, conventional imagers can be used. In systems where the image is input directly, the correlating element must be at the sensing location.

Informatics in radiology (infoRAD): free DICOM image viewing and processing software for the Macintosh computer: what's available and what it can do for you.

PubMed

Escott, Edward J; Rubinstein, David

2004-01-01

It is often necessary for radiologists to use digital images in presentations and conferences. Most imaging modalities produce images in the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format. The image files tend to be large and thus cannot be directly imported into most presentation software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint; the large files also consume storage space. There are many free programs that allow viewing and processing of these files on a personal computer, including conversion to more common file formats such as the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format. Free DICOM image viewing and processing software for computers running on the Microsoft Windows operating system has already been evaluated. However, many people use the Macintosh (Apple Computer) platform, and a number of programs are available for these users. The World Wide Web was searched for free DICOM image viewing or processing software that was designed for the Macintosh platform or is written in Java and is therefore platform independent. The features of these programs and their usability were evaluated. There are many free programs for the Macintosh platform that enable viewing and processing of DICOM images. (c) RSNA, 2004.

Processes Modifying Cratered Terrains on Pluto

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, J. M.

2015-01-01

The July encounter with Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft permitted imaging of its cratered terrains with scales as high as approximately 100 m/pixel, and in stereo. In the initial download of images, acquired at 2.2 km/pixel, widely distributed impact craters up to 260 km diameter are seen in the near-encounter hemisphere. Many of the craters appear to be significantly degraded or infilled. Some craters appear partially destroyed, perhaps by erosion such as associated with the retreat of scarps. Bright ice-rich deposits highlight some crater rims and/or floors. While the cratered terrains identified in the initial downloaded images are generally seen on high-to-intermediate albedo surfaces, the dark equatorial terrain informally known as Cthulhu Regio is also densely cratered. We will explore the range of possible processes that might have operated (or still be operating) to modify the landscape from that of an ancient pristinely cratered state to the present terrains revealed in New Horizons images. The sequence, intensity, and type of processes that have modified ancient landscapes are, among other things, the record of climate and volatile evolution throughout much of the Pluto's existence. The deciphering of this record will be discussed. This work was supported by NASA's New Horizons project.

The vectorization of a ray tracing program for image generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plunkett, D. J.; Cychosz, J. M.; Bailey, M. J.

1984-01-01

Ray tracing is a widely used method for producing realistic computer generated images. Ray tracing involves firing an imaginary ray from a view point, through a point on an image plane, into a three dimensional scene. The intersections of the ray with the objects in the scene determines what is visible at the point on the image plane. This process must be repeated many times, once for each point (commonly called a pixel) in the image plane. A typical image contains more than a million pixels making this process computationally expensive. A traditional ray tracing program processes one ray at a time. In such a serial approach, as much as ninety percent of the execution time is spent computing the intersection of a ray with the surface in the scene. With the CYBER 205, many rays can be intersected with all the bodies im the scene with a single series of vector operations. Vectorization of this intersection process results in large decreases in computation time. The CADLAB's interest in ray tracing stems from the need to produce realistic images of mechanical parts. A high quality image of a part during the design process can increase the productivity of the designer by helping him visualize the results of his work. To be useful in the design process, these images must be produced in a reasonable amount of time. This discussion will explain how the ray tracing process was vectorized and gives examples of the images obtained.

MO-B-BRC-01: Introduction [Brachytherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prisciandaro, J.

2016-06-15

Brachytherapy has proven to be an effective treatment option for prostate cancer. Initially, prostate brachytherapy was delivered through permanently implanted low dose rate (LDR) radioactive sources; however, high dose rate (HDR) temporary brachytherapy for prostate cancer is gaining popularity. Needle insertion during prostate brachytherapy is most commonly performed under ultrasound (U/S) guidance; however, treatment planning may be performed utilizing several imaging modalities either in an intra- or post-operative setting. During intra-operative prostate HDR, the needles are imaged during implantation, and planning may be performed in real time. At present, the most common imaging modality utilized for intra-operative prostate HDR ismore » U/S. Alternatively, in the post-operative setting, following needle implantation, patients may be simulated with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each imaging modality and workflow provides its share of benefits and limitations. Prostate HDR has been adopted in a number of cancer centers across the nation. In this educational session, we will explore the role of U/S, CT, and MRI in HDR prostate brachytherapy. Example workflows and operational details will be shared, and we will discuss how to establish a prostate HDR program in a clinical setting. Learning Objectives: Review prostate HDR techniques based on the imaging modality Discuss the challenges and pitfalls introduced by the three imagebased options for prostate HDR brachytherapy Review the QA process and learn about the development of clinical workflows for these imaging options at different institutions.« less

MO-B-BRC-04: MRI-Based Prostate HDR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mourtada, F.

2016-06-15

Brachytherapy has proven to be an effective treatment option for prostate cancer. Initially, prostate brachytherapy was delivered through permanently implanted low dose rate (LDR) radioactive sources; however, high dose rate (HDR) temporary brachytherapy for prostate cancer is gaining popularity. Needle insertion during prostate brachytherapy is most commonly performed under ultrasound (U/S) guidance; however, treatment planning may be performed utilizing several imaging modalities either in an intra- or post-operative setting. During intra-operative prostate HDR, the needles are imaged during implantation, and planning may be performed in real time. At present, the most common imaging modality utilized for intra-operative prostate HDR ismore » U/S. Alternatively, in the post-operative setting, following needle implantation, patients may be simulated with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each imaging modality and workflow provides its share of benefits and limitations. Prostate HDR has been adopted in a number of cancer centers across the nation. In this educational session, we will explore the role of U/S, CT, and MRI in HDR prostate brachytherapy. Example workflows and operational details will be shared, and we will discuss how to establish a prostate HDR program in a clinical setting. Learning Objectives: Review prostate HDR techniques based on the imaging modality Discuss the challenges and pitfalls introduced by the three imagebased options for prostate HDR brachytherapy Review the QA process and learn about the development of clinical workflows for these imaging options at different institutions.« less

MO-B-BRC-02: Ultrasound Based Prostate HDR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Z.

2016-06-15

Brachytherapy has proven to be an effective treatment option for prostate cancer. Initially, prostate brachytherapy was delivered through permanently implanted low dose rate (LDR) radioactive sources; however, high dose rate (HDR) temporary brachytherapy for prostate cancer is gaining popularity. Needle insertion during prostate brachytherapy is most commonly performed under ultrasound (U/S) guidance; however, treatment planning may be performed utilizing several imaging modalities either in an intra- or post-operative setting. During intra-operative prostate HDR, the needles are imaged during implantation, and planning may be performed in real time. At present, the most common imaging modality utilized for intra-operative prostate HDR ismore » U/S. Alternatively, in the post-operative setting, following needle implantation, patients may be simulated with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each imaging modality and workflow provides its share of benefits and limitations. Prostate HDR has been adopted in a number of cancer centers across the nation. In this educational session, we will explore the role of U/S, CT, and MRI in HDR prostate brachytherapy. Example workflows and operational details will be shared, and we will discuss how to establish a prostate HDR program in a clinical setting. Learning Objectives: Review prostate HDR techniques based on the imaging modality Discuss the challenges and pitfalls introduced by the three imagebased options for prostate HDR brachytherapy Review the QA process and learn about the development of clinical workflows for these imaging options at different institutions.« less

High-frame rate multiport CCD imager and camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, Peter A.; Patterson, David R.; Esposito, Benjamin J.; Tower, John R.; Lawler, William B.

1993-01-01

A high frame rate visible CCD camera capable of operation up to 200 frames per second is described. The camera produces a 256 X 256 pixel image by using one quadrant of a 512 X 512 16-port, back illuminated CCD imager. Four contiguous outputs are digitally reformatted into a correct, 256 X 256 image. This paper details the architecture and timing used for the CCD drive circuits, analog processing, and the digital reformatter.

Image quality specification and maintenance for airborne SAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clinard, Mark S.

2004-08-01

Specification, verification, and maintenance of image quality over the lifecycle of an operational airborne SAR begin with the specification for the system itself. Verification of image quality-oriented specification compliance can be enhanced by including a specification requirement that a vendor provide appropriate imagery at the various phases of the system life cycle. The nature and content of the imagery appropriate for each stage of the process depends on the nature of the test, the economics of collection, and the availability of techniques to extract the desired information from the data. At the earliest lifecycle stages, Concept and Technology Development (CTD) and System Development and Demonstration (SDD), the test set could include simulated imagery to demonstrate the mathematical and engineering concepts being implemented thus allowing demonstration of compliance, in part, through simulation. For Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E), imagery collected from precisely instrumented test ranges and targets of opportunity consisting of a priori or a posteriori ground-truthed cultural and natural features are of value to the analysis of product quality compliance. Regular monitoring of image quality is possible using operational imagery and automated metrics; more precise measurements can be performed with imagery of instrumented scenes, when available. A survey of image quality measurement techniques is presented along with a discussion of the challenges of managing an airborne SAR program with the scarce resources of time, money, and ground-truthed data. Recommendations are provided that should allow an improvement in the product quality specification and maintenance process with a minimal increase in resource demands on the customer, the vendor, the operational personnel, and the asset itself.

Development and Operation of a Material Identification and Discrimination Imaging Spectroradiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dombrowski, Mark; Willson, paul; LaBaw, Clayton

1997-01-01

Many imaging applications require quantitative determination of a scene's spectral radiance. This paper describes a new system capable of real-time spectroradiometric imagery. Operating at a full-spectrum update rate of 30Hz, this imager is capable of collecting a 30 point spectrum from each of three imaging heads: the first operates from 400 nm to 950 nm, with a 2% bandwidth; the second operates from 1.5 micro-m to 5.5 micro-m with a 1.5% bandwidth; the third operates from 5 micro-m to 12 micro-m, also at a 1.5% bandwidth. Standard image format is 256 x 256, with 512 x 512 possible in the VIS/NIR head. Spectra of up to 256 points are available at proportionately lower frame rates. In order to make such a tremendous amount of data more manageable, internal processing electronics perform four important operations on the spectral imagery data in real-time. First, all data in the spatial/spectral cube of data is spectro-radiometrically calibrated as it is collected. Second, to allow the imager to simulate sensors with arbitrary spectral response, any set of three spectral response functions may be loaded into the imager including delta functions to allow single wavelength viewing; the instrument then evaluates the integral of the product of the scene spectral radiances and the response function. Third, more powerful exploitation of the gathered spectral radiances can be effected by application of various spectral-matched filtering algorithms to identify pixels whose relative spectral radiance distribution matches a sought-after spectral radiance distribution, allowing materials-based identification and discrimination. Fourth, the instrument allows determination of spectral reflectance, surface temperature, and spectral emissivity, also in real-time. The spectral imaging technique used in the instrument allows tailoring of the frame rate and/or the spectral bandwidth to suit the scene radiance levels, i.e., frame rate can be reduced, or bandwidth increased to improve SNR when viewing low radiance scenes. The unique challenges of design and calibration are described. Pixel readout rates of 160 MHz, for full frame readout rates of 1000 Hz (512 x 512 image) present the first challenge; processing rates of nearly 600 million integer operations per second for sensor emulation, or over 2 billion per second for matched filtering, present the second. Spatial and spectral calibration of 66,536 pixels (262,144 for the 512 x 512 version) and up to 1,000 spectral positions mandate novel decoupling methods to keep the required calibration memory to a reasonable size. Large radiometric dynamic range also requires care to maintain precision operation with minimum memory size.

[Dry view laser imager--a new economical photothermal imaging method].

PubMed

Weberling, R

1996-11-01

The production of hard copies is currently achieved by means of laser imagers and wet film processing in systems attached either directly in or to the laser imager or in a darkroom. Variations in image quality resulting from a not always optimal wet film development are frequent. A newly developed thermographic film developer for laser films without liquid powdered chemicals, on the other hand, is environmentally preferable and reducing operating costs. The completely dry developing process provides permanent image documentation meeting the quality and safety requirements of RöV and BAK. One of the currently available systems of this type, the DryView Laser Imager is inexpensive and easy to install. The selective connection principle of the DryView Laser Imager can be expanded as required and accepts digital and/or analog interfaces with all imaging systems (CT, MR, DR, US, NM) from the various manufactures.

CoBOP: Electro-Optic Identification Laser Line Sean Sensors

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

Electro - Optic Identification Sensors Project[1] is to develop and demonstrate high resolution underwater electro - optic (EO) imaging sensors, and associated image processing/analysis methods, for rapid visual identification of mines and mine-like contacts (MLCs). Identification of MLCs is a pressing Fleet need. During MCM operations, sonar contacts are classified as mine-like if they are sufficiently similar to signatures of mines. Each contact classified as mine-like must be identified as a mine or not a mine. During MCM operations in littoral areas,

Development of a fusion approach selection tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohl, C.; Zeng, Y.

2015-06-01

During the last decades number and quality of available remote sensing satellite sensors for Earth observation has grown significantly. The amount of available multi-sensor images along with their increased spatial and spectral resolution provides new challenges to Earth scientists. With a Fusion Approach Selection Tool (FAST) the remote sensing community would obtain access to an optimized and improved image processing technology. Remote sensing image fusion is a mean to produce images containing information that is not inherent in the single image alone. In the meantime the user has access to sophisticated commercialized image fusion techniques plus the option to tune the parameters of each individual technique to match the anticipated application. This leaves the operator with an uncountable number of options to combine remote sensing images, not talking about the selection of the appropriate images, resolution and bands. Image fusion can be a machine and time-consuming endeavour. In addition it requires knowledge about remote sensing, image fusion, digital image processing and the application. FAST shall provide the user with a quick overview of processing flows to choose from to reach the target. FAST will ask for available images, application parameters and desired information to process this input to come out with a workflow to quickly obtain the best results. It will optimize data and image fusion techniques. It provides an overview on the possible results from which the user can choose the best. FAST will enable even inexperienced users to use advanced processing methods to maximize the benefit of multi-sensor image exploitation.

Automatic tissue image segmentation based on image processing and deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Zhenglun; Luo, Junyi; Xu, Shengpu; Li, Ting

2018-02-01

Image segmentation plays an important role in multimodality imaging, especially in fusion structural images offered by CT, MRI with functional images collected by optical technologies or other novel imaging technologies. Plus, image segmentation also provides detailed structure description for quantitative visualization of treating light distribution in the human body when incorporated with 3D light transport simulation method. Here we used image enhancement, operators, and morphometry methods to extract the accurate contours of different tissues such as skull, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) on 5 fMRI head image datasets. Then we utilized convolutional neural network to realize automatic segmentation of images in a deep learning way. We also introduced parallel computing. Such approaches greatly reduced the processing time compared to manual and semi-automatic segmentation and is of great importance in improving speed and accuracy as more and more samples being learned. Our results can be used as a criteria when diagnosing diseases such as cerebral atrophy, which is caused by pathological changes in gray matter or white matter. We demonstrated the great potential of such image processing and deep leaning combined automatic tissue image segmentation in personalized medicine, especially in monitoring, and treatments.

Image processing system design for microcantilever-based optical readout infrared arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Qiang; Dong, Liquan; Zhao, Yuejin; Gong, Cheng; Liu, Xiaohua; Yu, Xiaomei; Yang, Lei; Liu, Weiyu

2012-12-01

Compared with the traditional infrared imaging technology, the new type of optical-readout uncooled infrared imaging technology based on MEMS has many advantages, such as low cost, small size, producing simple. In addition, the theory proves that the technology's high thermal detection sensitivity. So it has a very broad application prospects in the field of high performance infrared detection. The paper mainly focuses on an image capturing and processing system in the new type of optical-readout uncooled infrared imaging technology based on MEMS. The image capturing and processing system consists of software and hardware. We build our image processing core hardware platform based on TI's high performance DSP chip which is the TMS320DM642, and then design our image capturing board based on the MT9P031. MT9P031 is Micron's company high frame rate, low power consumption CMOS chip. Last we use Intel's company network transceiver devices-LXT971A to design the network output board. The software system is built on the real-time operating system DSP/BIOS. We design our video capture driver program based on TI's class-mini driver and network output program based on the NDK kit for image capturing and processing and transmitting. The experiment shows that the system has the advantages of high capturing resolution and fast processing speed. The speed of the network transmission is up to 100Mbps.

The universal toolbox thermal imager

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollock, Steve; Jones, Graham; Usowicz, Paul

2003-09-01

The Introduction of Microsoft Pocket PC 2000/2002 has seen a standardisation of the operating systems used by the majority of PDA manufacturers. This, coupled with the recent price reductions associated with these devices, has led to a rapid increase in the sales of such units; their use is now common in industrial, commercial and domestic applications throughout the world. This paper describes the results of a programme to develop a thermal imager that will interface directly to all of these units so as to take advantage of the existing and future installed base of such devices. The imager currently interfaces with virtually any Pocket PC which provides the necessary processing, display and storage capability; as an alternative, the output of the unit can be visualised and processed in real time using a PC or laptop computer. In future, the open architecture employed by this imager will allow it to support all mobile computing devices, including phones and PDAs. The imager has been designed for one-handed or two-handed operation so that it may be pointed at awkward angles or used in confined spaces; this flexibility of use coupled with the extensive feature range and exceedingly low-cost of the imager, is extending the marketplace for thermal imaging from military and professional, through industrial to the commercial and domestic marketplaces.

Fast and accurate denoising method applied to very high resolution optical remote sensing images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masse, Antoine; Lefèvre, Sébastien; Binet, Renaud; Artigues, Stéphanie; Lassalle, Pierre; Blanchet, Gwendoline; Baillarin, Simon

2017-10-01

Restoration of Very High Resolution (VHR) optical Remote Sensing Image (RSI) is critical and leads to the problem of removing instrumental noise while keeping integrity of relevant information. Improving denoising in an image processing chain implies increasing image quality and improving performance of all following tasks operated by experts (photo-interpretation, cartography, etc.) or by algorithms (land cover mapping, change detection, 3D reconstruction, etc.). In a context of large industrial VHR image production, the selected denoising method should optimized accuracy and robustness with relevant information and saliency conservation, and rapidity due to the huge amount of data acquired and/or archived. Very recent research in image processing leads to a fast and accurate algorithm called Non Local Bayes (NLB) that we propose to adapt and optimize for VHR RSIs. This method is well suited for mass production thanks to its best trade-off between accuracy and computational complexity compared to other state-of-the-art methods. NLB is based on a simple principle: similar structures in an image have similar noise distribution and thus can be denoised with the same noise estimation. In this paper, we describe in details algorithm operations and performances, and analyze parameter sensibilities on various typical real areas observed in VHR RSIs.

Color Imaging management in film processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tremeau, Alain; Konik, Hubert; Colantoni, Philippe

2003-12-01

The latest research projects in the laboratory LIGIV concerns capture, processing, archiving and display of color images considering the trichromatic nature of the Human Vision System (HSV). Among these projects one addresses digital cinematographic film sequences of high resolution and dynamic range. This project aims to optimize the use of content for the post-production operators and for the end user. The studies presented in this paper address the use of metadata to optimise the consumption of video content on a device of user's choice independent of the nature of the equipment that captured the content. Optimising consumption includes enhancing the quality of image reconstruction on a display. Another part of this project addresses the content-based adaptation of image display. Main focus is on Regions of Interest (ROI) operations, based on the ROI concepts of MPEG-7. The aim of this second part is to characterize and ensure the conditions of display even if display device or display media changes. This requires firstly the definition of a reference color space and the definition of bi-directional color transformations for each peripheral device (camera, display, film recorder, etc.). The complicating factor is that different devices have different color gamuts, depending on the chromaticity of their primaries and the ambient illumination under which they are viewed. To match the displayed image to the aimed appearance, all kind of production metadata (camera specification, camera colour primaries, lighting conditions) should be associated to the film material. Metadata and content build together rich content. The author is assumed to specify conditions as known from digital graphics arts. To control image pre-processing and image post-processing, these specifications should be contained in the film's metadata. The specifications are related to the ICC profiles but need additionally consider mesopic viewing conditions.

An Asymmetric Image Encryption Based on Phase Truncated Hybrid Transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khurana, Mehak; Singh, Hukum

2017-09-01

To enhance the security of the system and to protect it from the attacker, this paper proposes a new asymmetric cryptosystem based on hybrid approach of Phase Truncated Fourier and Discrete Cosine Transform (PTFDCT) which adds non linearity by including cube and cube root operation in the encryption and decryption path respectively. In this cryptosystem random phase masks are used as encryption keys and phase masks generated after the cube operation in encryption process are reserved as decryption keys and cube root operation is required to decrypt image in decryption process. The cube and cube root operation introduced in the encryption and decryption path makes system resistant against standard attacks. The robustness of the proposed cryptosystem has been analysed and verified on the basis of various parameters by simulating on MATLAB 7.9.0 (R2008a). The experimental results are provided to highlight the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed cryptosystem and prove the system is secure.

Building an outpatient imaging center: A case study at genesis healthcare system, part 2.

PubMed

Yanci, Jim

2006-01-01

In the second of 2 parts, this article will focus on process improvement projects utilizing a case study at Genesis HealthCare System located in Zanesville, OH. Operational efficiency is a key step in developing a freestanding diagnostic imaging center. The process improvement projects began with an Expert Improvement Session (EIS) on the scheduling process. An EIS session is a facilitated meeting that can last anywhere from 3 hours to 2 days. Its intention is to take a group of people involved with the problem or operational process and work to understand current failures or breakdowns in the process. Recommendations are jointly developed to overcome any current deficiencies, and a work plan is structured to create ownership over the changes. A total of 11 EIS sessions occurred over the course of this project, covering 5 sections: Scheduling/telephone call process, Pre-registration, Verification/pre-certification, MRI throughput, CT throughput. Following is a single example of a project focused on the process improvement efforts. All of the process improvement projects utilized a quasi methodology of "DMAIC" (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control).

Toward a perceptual image quality assessment of color quantized images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frackiewicz, Mariusz; Palus, Henryk

2018-04-01

Color image quantization is an important operation in the field of color image processing. In this paper, we consider new perceptual image quality metrics for assessment of quantized images. These types of metrics, e.g. DSCSI, MDSIs, MDSIm and HPSI achieve the highest correlation coefficients with MOS during tests on the six publicly available image databases. Research was limited to images distorted by two types of compression: JPG and JPG2K. Statistical analysis of correlation coefficients based on the Friedman test and post-hoc procedures showed that the differences between the four new perceptual metrics are not statistically significant.

Automatic joint alignment measurements in pre- and post-operative long leg standing radiographs.

PubMed

Goossen, A; Weber, G M; Dries, S P M

2012-01-01

For diagnosis or treatment assessment of knee joint osteoarthritis it is required to measure bone morphometry from radiographic images. We propose a method for automatic measurement of joint alignment from pre-operative as well as post-operative radiographs. In a two step approach we first detect and segment any implants or other artificial objects within the image. We exploit physical characteristics and avoid prior shape information to cope with the vast amount of implant types. Subsequently, we exploit the implant delineations to adapt the initialization and adaptation phase of a dedicated bone segmentation scheme using deformable template models. Implant and bone contours are fused to derive the final joint segmentation and thus the alignment measurements. We evaluated our method on clinical long leg radiographs and compared both the initialization rate, corresponding to the number of images successfully processed by the proposed algorithm, and the accuracy of the alignment measurement. Ground truth has been generated by an experienced orthopedic surgeon. For comparison a second reader reevaluated the measurements. Experiments on two sets of 70 and 120 digital radiographs show that 92% of the joints could be processed automatically and the derived measurements of the automatic method are comparable to a human reader for pre-operative as well as post-operative images with a typical error of 0.7° and correlations of r = 0.82 to r = 0.99 with the ground truth. The proposed method allows deriving objective measures of joint alignment from clinical radiographs. Its accuracy and precision are on par with a human reader for all evaluated measurements.

Identification of cortex in magnetic resonance images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

VanMeter, John W.; Sandon, Peter A.

1992-06-01

The overall goal of the work described here is to make available to the neurosurgeon in the operating room an on-line, three-dimensional, anatomically labeled model of the patient brain, based on pre-operative magnetic resonance (MR) images. A stereotactic operating microscope is currently in experimental use, which allows structures that have been manually identified in MR images to be made available on-line. We have been working to enhance this system by combining image processing techniques applied to the MR data with an anatomically labeled 3-D brain model developed from the Talairach and Tournoux atlas. Here we describe the process of identifying cerebral cortex in the patient MR images. MR images of brain tissue are reasonably well described by material mixture models, which identify each pixel as corresponding to one of a small number of materials, or as being a composite of two materials. Our classification algorithm consists of three steps. First, we apply hierarchical, adaptive grayscale adjustments to correct for nonlinearities in the MR sensor. The goal of this preprocessing step, based on the material mixture model, is to make the grayscale distribution of each tissue type constant across the entire image. Next, we perform an initial classification of all tissue types according to gray level. We have used a sum of Gaussian's approximation of the histogram to perform this classification. Finally, we identify pixels corresponding to cortex, by taking into account the spatial patterns characteristic of this tissue. For this purpose, we use a set of matched filters to identify image locations having the appropriate configuration of gray matter (cortex), cerebrospinal fluid and white matter, as determined by the previous classification step.

A Restrospective and Prospective Examination of NOAA Solar Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, S. M.

2015-12-01

NOAA has provided soft X-ray imaging of the lower corona since the early 2000's. It is currently building the spacecraft and instrumentation to observe the sun in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) through 2036. After more than 6 million calibrated images, it is appropriate to examine NOAA data as providing retrospective context for scientific missions. In particular, this presentation examines the record of GOES Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) observations, including continuity, photometric stability and comparison to other contemporary x-ray imagers. The first GOES Solar X-ray Imager was launched in 2001 and entered operations in 2003. The current SXIs will remain in operations until approximately 2020, when a new series of Solar (extreme-)Ultraviolet Imagers (SUVIs) will replace them as the current satellites reach their end of life. In the sense that the SXIs are similar to Yokoh's SXT and Hinode's XRT, the SUVI instruments will be similar to SOHO's EIT and SDO's AIA. The move to narrowband EUV imagers will better support eventual operational estimation of plasma conditions. In particular, plans are to leverage advances in automated image processing and segmentation to assist forecasters. While NOAA's principal use of these observations is real-time space weather forecasting, they will continue to provide a consistent context measurement for researchers for decades to come.

Path Searching Based Crease Detection for Large Scale Scanned Document Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jifu; Li, Yi; Li, Shutao; Sun, Bin; Sun, Jun

2017-12-01

Since the large size documents are usually folded for preservation, creases will occur in the scanned images. In this paper, a crease detection method is proposed to locate the crease pixels for further processing. According to the imaging process of contactless scanners, the shading on both sides of the crease usually varies a lot. Based on this observation, a convex hull based algorithm is adopted to extract the shading information of the scanned image. Then, the possible crease path can be achieved by applying the vertical filter and morphological operations on the shading image. Finally, the accurate crease is detected via Dijkstra path searching. Experimental results on the dataset of real scanned newspapers demonstrate that the proposed method can obtain accurate locations of the creases in the large size document images.

Skeletonization with hollow detection on gray image by gray weighted distance transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Prabir; Qian, Kai; Cao, Siqi; Qian, Yi

1998-10-01

A skeletonization algorithm that could be used to process non-uniformly distributed gray-scale images with hollows was presented. This algorithm is based on the Gray Weighted Distance Transformation. The process includes a preliminary phase of investigation in the hollows in the gray-scale image, whether these hollows are considered as topological constraints for the skeleton structure depending on their statistically significant depth. We then extract the resulting skeleton that has certain meaningful information for understanding the object in the image. This improved algorithm can overcome the possible misinterpretation of some complicated images in the extracted skeleton, especially in images with asymmetric hollows and asymmetric features. This algorithm can be executed on a parallel machine as all the operations are executed in local. Some examples are discussed to illustrate the algorithm.

Real-time three-dimensional soft tissue reconstruction for laparoscopic surgery.

PubMed

Kowalczuk, Jędrzej; Meyer, Avishai; Carlson, Jay; Psota, Eric T; Buettner, Shelby; Pérez, Lance C; Farritor, Shane M; Oleynikov, Dmitry

2012-12-01

Accurate real-time 3D models of the operating field have the potential to enable augmented reality for endoscopic surgery. A new system is proposed to create real-time 3D models of the operating field that uses a custom miniaturized stereoscopic video camera attached to a laparoscope and an image-based reconstruction algorithm implemented on a graphics processing unit (GPU). The proposed system was evaluated in a porcine model that approximates the viewing conditions of in vivo surgery. To assess the quality of the models, a synthetic view of the operating field was produced by overlaying a color image on the reconstructed 3D model, and an image rendered from the 3D model was compared with a 2D image captured from the same view. Experiments conducted with an object of known geometry demonstrate that the system produces 3D models accurate to within 1.5 mm. The ability to produce accurate real-time 3D models of the operating field is a significant advancement toward augmented reality in minimally invasive surgery. An imaging system with this capability will potentially transform surgery by helping novice and expert surgeons alike to delineate variance in internal anatomy accurately.

Real-time processing of dual band HD video for maintaining operational effectiveness in degraded visual environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Steve C. J.; Hickman, Duncan L.; Smith, Moira I.

2015-05-01

Effective reconnaissance, surveillance and situational awareness, using dual band sensor systems, require the extraction, enhancement and fusion of salient features, with the processed video being presented to the user in an ergonomic and interpretable manner. HALO™ is designed to meet these requirements and provides an affordable, real-time, and low-latency image fusion solution on a low size, weight and power (SWAP) platform. The system has been progressively refined through field trials to increase its operating envelope and robustness. The result is a video processor that improves detection, recognition and identification (DRI) performance, whilst lowering operator fatigue and reaction times in complex and highly dynamic situations. This paper compares the performance of HALO™, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with conventional blended fusion for operation in degraded visual environments (DVEs), such as those experienced during ground and air-based operations. Although image blending provides a simple fusion solution, which explains its common adoption, the results presented demonstrate that its performance is poor compared to the HALO™ fusion scheme in DVE scenarios.

40 CFR 63.11094 - What are my recordkeeping requirements?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...)(1) of this section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying... section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying signatures. (ii) The... approval to use a vapor processing system or monitor an operating parameter other than those specified in...

40 CFR 63.11094 - What are my recordkeeping requirements?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...)(1) of this section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying... section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying signatures. (ii) The... approval to use a vapor processing system or monitor an operating parameter other than those specified in...

40 CFR 63.11094 - What are my recordkeeping requirements?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...)(1) of this section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying... section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying signatures. (ii) The... approval to use a vapor processing system or monitor an operating parameter other than those specified in...

40 CFR 63.11094 - What are my recordkeeping requirements?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...)(1) of this section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying... section is an exact duplicate image of the original paper record with certifying signatures. (ii) The... approval to use a vapor processing system or monitor an operating parameter other than those specified in...

Tse computers. [ultrahigh speed optical processing for two dimensional binary image

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaefer, D. H.; Strong, J. P., III

1977-01-01

An ultra-high-speed computer that utilizes binary images as its basic computational entity is being developed. The basic logic components perform thousands of operations simultaneously. Technologies of the fiber optics, display, thin film, and semiconductor industries are being utilized in the building of the hardware.

[Image fusion: use in the control of the distribution of prostatic biopsies].

PubMed

Mozer, Pierre; Baumann, Michaël; Chevreau, Grégoire; Troccaz, Jocelyne

2008-02-01

Prostate biopsies are performed under 2D TransRectal UltraSound (US) guidance by sampling the prostate according to a predefined pattern. Modern image processing tools allow better control of biopsy distribution. We evaluated the accuracy of a single operator performing a pattern of 12 ultrasound-guided biopsies by registering 3D ultrasound control images acquired after each biopsy. For each patient, prostate image alignment was performed automatically with a voxel-based registration algorithm allowing visualization of each biopsy trajectory in a single ultrasound reference volume. On average, the operator reached the target in 60% of all cases. This study shows that it is difficult to accurately reach targets in the prostate using 2D ultrasound. In the near future, real-time fusion of MRI and US images will allow selection of a target in previously acquired MR images and biopsy of this target by US guidance.

Generation of synthetic image sequences for the verification of matching and tracking algorithms for deformation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bethmann, F.; Jepping, C.; Luhmann, T.

2013-04-01

This paper reports on a method for the generation of synthetic image data for almost arbitrary static or dynamic 3D scenarios. Image data generation is based on pre-defined 3D objects, object textures, camera orientation data and their imaging properties. The procedure does not focus on the creation of photo-realistic images under consideration of complex imaging and reflection models as they are used by common computer graphics programs. In contrast, the method is designed with main emphasis on geometrically correct synthetic images without radiometric impact. The calculation process includes photogrammetric distortion models, hence cameras with arbitrary geometric imaging characteristics can be applied. Consequently, image sets can be created that are consistent to mathematical photogrammetric models to be used as sup-pixel accurate data for the assessment of high-precision photogrammetric processing methods. In the first instance the paper describes the process of image simulation under consideration of colour value interpolation, MTF/PSF and so on. Subsequently the geometric quality of the synthetic images is evaluated with ellipse operators. Finally, simulated image sets are used to investigate matching and tracking algorithms as they have been developed at IAPG for deformation measurement in car safety testing.

Schlieren image velocimetry measurements in a rocket engine exhaust plume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morales, Rudy; Peguero, Julio; Hargather, Michael

2017-11-01

Schlieren image velocimetry (SIV) measures velocity fields by tracking the motion of naturally-occurring turbulent flow features in a compressible flow. Here the technique is applied to measuring the exhaust velocity profile of a liquid rocket engine. The SIV measurements presented include discussion of visibility of structures, image pre-processing for structure visibility, and ability to process resulting images using commercial particle image velocimetry (PIV) codes. The small-scale liquid bipropellant rocket engine operates on nitrous oxide and ethanol as propellants. Predictions of the exhaust velocity are obtained through NASA CEA calculations and simple compressible flow relationships, which are compared against the measured SIV profiles. Analysis of shear layer turbulence along the exhaust plume edge is also presented.

Pictures, images, and recollective experience.

PubMed

Dewhurst, S A; Conway, M A

1994-09-01

Five experiments investigated the influence of picture processing on recollective experience in recognition memory. Subjects studied items that differed in visual or imaginal detail, such as pictures versus words and high-imageability versus low-imageability words, and performed orienting tasks that directed processing either toward a stimulus as a word or toward a stimulus as a picture or image. Standard effects of imageability (e.g., the picture superiority effect and memory advantages following imagery) were obtained only in recognition judgments that featured recollective experience and were eliminated or reversed when recognition was not accompanied by recollective experience. It is proposed that conscious recollective experience in recognition memory is cued by attributes of retrieved memories such as sensory-perceptual attributes and records of cognitive operations performed at encoding.

Image recognition of clipped stigma traces in rice seeds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, F.; Ying, YB

2005-11-01

The objective of this research is to develop algorithm to recognize clipped stigma traces in rice seeds using image processing. At first, the micro-configuration of clipped stigma traces was observed with electronic scanning microscope. Then images of rice seeds were acquired with a color machine vision system. A digital image-processing algorithm based on morphological operations and Hough transform was developed to inspect the occurrence of clipped stigma traces. Five varieties of Jinyou402, Shanyou10, Zhongyou207, Jiayou and you3207 were evaluated. The algorithm was implemented with all image sets using a Matlab 6.5 procedure. The results showed that the algorithm achieved an average accuracy of 96%. The algorithm was proved to be insensitive to the different rice seed varieties.

Validation Test Report for the Automated Optical Processing System (AOPS) Version 4.12

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-03

NPP) with the VIIRS sensor package as well as data from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) sensor, aboard the Communication Ocean and...capability • Prepare the NRT Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) data stream for integration into operations. • Improvements in sensor...Navy (DON) Environmental Data Records (EDRs) Expeditionary Warfare (EXW) Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Hierarchical

InSb charge coupled infrared imaging device: The 20 element linear imager

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thom, R. D.; Koch, T. L.; Parrish, W. J.; Langan, J. D.; Chase, S. C.

1980-01-01

The design and fabrication of the 8585 InSb charge coupled infrared imaging device (CCIRID) chip are reported. The InSb material characteristics are described along with mask and process modifications. Test results for the 2- and 20-element CCIRID's are discussed, including gate oxide characteristics, charge transfer efficiency, optical mode of operation, and development of the surface potential diagram.

Predicting tool life in turning operations using neural networks and image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikołajczyk, T.; Nowicki, K.; Bustillo, A.; Yu Pimenov, D.

2018-05-01

A two-step method is presented for the automatic prediction of tool life in turning operations. First, experimental data are collected for three cutting edges under the same constant processing conditions. In these experiments, the parameter of tool wear, VB, is measured with conventional methods and the same parameter is estimated using Neural Wear, a customized software package that combines flank wear image recognition and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Second, an ANN model of tool life is trained with the data collected from the first two cutting edges and the subsequent model is evaluated on two different subsets for the third cutting edge: the first subset is obtained from the direct measurement of tool wear and the second is obtained from the Neural Wear software that estimates tool wear using edge images. Although the complete-automated solution, Neural Wear software for tool wear recognition plus the ANN model of tool life prediction, presented a slightly higher error than the direct measurements, it was within the same range and can meet all industrial requirements. These results confirm that the combination of image recognition software and ANN modelling could potentially be developed into a useful industrial tool for low-cost estimation of tool life in turning operations.

Schedule Optimization of Imaging Missions for Multiple Satellites and Ground Stations Using Genetic Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Junghyun; Kim, Heewon; Chung, Hyun; Kim, Haedong; Choi, Sujin; Jung, Okchul; Chung, Daewon; Ko, Kwanghee

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a method that uses a genetic algorithm for the dynamic schedule optimization of imaging missions for multiple satellites and ground systems. In particular, the visibility conflicts of communication and mission operation using satellite resources (electric power and onboard memory) are integrated in sequence. Resource consumption and restoration are considered in the optimization process. Image acquisition is an essential part of satellite missions and is performed via a series of subtasks such as command uplink, image capturing, image storing, and image downlink. An objective function for optimization is designed to maximize the usability by considering the following components: user-assigned priority, resource consumption, and image-acquisition time. For the simulation, a series of hypothetical imaging missions are allocated to a multi-satellite control system comprising five satellites and three ground stations having S- and X-band antennas. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, simulations are performed via three operation modes: general, commercial, and tactical.

Cybernetic Basis and System Practice of Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, X.; Jing, X.; Chen, R.; Ming, Z.; He, L.; Sun, Y.; Sun, X.; Yan, L.

2017-09-01

Cybernetics provides a new set of ideas and methods for the study of modern science, and it has been fully applied in many areas. However, few people have introduced cybernetics into the field of remote sensing. The paper is based on the imaging process of remote sensing system, introducing cybernetics into the field of remote sensing, establishing a space-time closed-loop control theory for the actual operation of remote sensing. The paper made the process of spatial information coherently, and improved the comprehensive efficiency of the space information from acquisition, procession, transformation to application. We not only describes the application of cybernetics in remote sensing platform control, sensor control, data processing control, but also in whole system of remote sensing imaging process control. We achieve the information of output back to the input to control the efficient operation of the entire system. This breakthrough combination of cybernetics science and remote sensing science will improve remote sensing science to a higher level.

Image processing can cause some malignant soft-tissue lesions to be missed in digital mammography images.

PubMed

Warren, L M; Halling-Brown, M D; Looney, P T; Dance, D R; Wallis, M G; Given-Wilson, R M; Wilkinson, L; McAvinchey, R; Young, K C

2017-09-01

To investigate the effect of image processing on cancer detection in mammography. An observer study was performed using 349 digital mammography images of women with normal breasts, calcification clusters, or soft-tissue lesions including 191 subtle cancers. Images underwent two types of processing: FlavourA (standard) and FlavourB (added enhancement). Six observers located features in the breast they suspected to be cancerous (4,188 observations). Data were analysed using jackknife alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC) analysis. Characteristics of the cancers detected with each image processing type were investigated. For calcifications, the JAFROC figure of merit (FOM) was equal to 0.86 for both types of image processing. For soft-tissue lesions, the JAFROC FOM were better for FlavourA (0.81) than FlavourB (0.78); this difference was significant (p=0.001). Using FlavourA a greater number of cancers of all grades and sizes were detected than with FlavourB. FlavourA improved soft-tissue lesion detection in denser breasts (p=0.04 when volumetric density was over 7.5%) CONCLUSIONS: The detection of malignant soft-tissue lesions (which were primarily invasive) was significantly better with FlavourA than FlavourB image processing. This is despite FlavourB having a higher contrast appearance often preferred by radiologists. It is important that clinical choice of image processing is based on objective measures. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An optical processor for object recognition and tracking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sloan, J.; Udomkesmalee, S.

1987-01-01

The design and development of a miniaturized optical processor that performs real time image correlation are described. The optical correlator utilizes the Vander Lugt matched spatial filter technique. The correlation output, a focused beam of light, is imaged onto a CMOS photodetector array. In addition to performing target recognition, the device also tracks the target. The hardware, composed of optical and electro-optical components, occupies only 590 cu cm of volume. A complete correlator system would also include an input imaging lens. This optical processing system is compact, rugged, requires only 3.5 watts of operating power, and weighs less than 3 kg. It represents a major achievement in miniaturizing optical processors. When considered as a special-purpose processing unit, it is an attractive alternative to conventional digital image recognition processing. It is conceivable that the combined technology of both optical and ditital processing could result in a very advanced robot vision system.

Wave Phase-Sensitive Transformation of 3d-Straining of Mechanical Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, I. N.; Speranskiy, A. A.

2015-11-01

It is the area of research of oscillatory processes in elastic mechanical systems. Technical result of innovation is creation of spectral set of multidimensional images which reflect time-correlated three-dimensional vector parameters of metrological, and\\or estimated, and\\or design parameters of oscillations in mechanical systems. Reconstructed images of different dimensionality integrated in various combinations depending on their objective function can be used as homeostatic profile or cybernetic image of oscillatory processes in mechanical systems for an objective estimation of current operational conditions in real time. The innovation can be widely used to enhance the efficiency of monitoring and research of oscillation processes in mechanical systems (objects) in construction, mechanical engineering, acoustics, etc. Concept method of vector vibrometry based on application of vector 3D phase- sensitive vibro-transducers permits unique evaluation of real stressed-strained states of power aggregates and loaded constructions and opens fundamental innovation opportunities: conduct of continuous (on-line regime) reliable monitoring of turboagregates of electrical machines, compressor installations, bases, supports, pipe-lines and other objects subjected to damaging effect of vibrations; control of operational safety of technical systems at all the stages of life cycle including design, test production, tuning, testing, operational use, repairs and resource enlargement; creation of vibro-diagnostic systems of authentic non-destructive control of anisotropic characteristics of materials resistance of power aggregates and loaded constructions under outer effects and operational flaws. The described technology is revolutionary, universal and common for all branches of engineering industry and construction building objects.

Software Reuse in the Planetary Context: The JPL/MIPL Mars Program Suite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deen, Robert

2012-01-01

Reuse greatly reduces development costs. Savings can be invested in new/improved capabilities Or returned to sponsor Worth the extra time to "do it right" Operator training greatly reduced. MIPL MER personnel can step into MSL easily because the programs are familiar. Application programs much easier to write. Can assume core capabilities exist already. Multimission Instrument (Image) Processing Lab at MIPL Responsible for the ground-based instrument data processing for (among other things) all recent in-situ Mars missions: Mars Pathfinder Mars Polar Lander (MPL) Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) Phoenix Mars Science Lab (MSL) Responsibilities for in-situ missions Reconstruction of instrument data from telemetry Systematic creation of Reduced Data Records (RDRs) for images Creation of special products for operations, science, and public outreach In the critical path for operations MIPL products required for planning the next Sol s activities

LANDSAT-4 image data quality analysis for energy related applications. [nuclear power plant sites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wukelic, G. E. (Principal Investigator)

1983-01-01

No useable LANDSAT 4 TM data were obtained for the Hanford site in the Columbia Plateau region, but TM simulator data for a Virginia Electric Company nuclear power plant was used to test image processing algorithms. Principal component analyses of this data set clearly indicated that thermal plumes in surface waters used for reactor cooling would be discrenible. Image processing and analysis programs were successfully testing using the 7 band Arkansas test scene and preliminary analysis of TM data for the Savanah River Plant shows that current interactive, image enhancement, analysis and integration techniques can be effectively used for LANDSAT 4 data. Thermal band data appear adequate for gross estimates of thermal changes occurring near operating nuclear facilities especially in surface water bodies being used for reactor cooling purposes. Additional image processing software was written and tested which provides for more rapid and effective analysis of the 7 band TM data.

ID card number detection algorithm based on convolutional neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jian; Ma, Hanjie; Feng, Jie; Dai, Leiyan

2018-04-01

In this paper, a new detection algorithm based on Convolutional Neural Network is presented in order to realize the fast and convenient ID information extraction in multiple scenarios. The algorithm uses the mobile device equipped with Android operating system to locate and extract the ID number; Use the special color distribution of the ID card, select the appropriate channel component; Use the image threshold segmentation, noise processing and morphological processing to take the binary processing for image; At the same time, the image rotation and projection method are used for horizontal correction when image was tilting; Finally, the single character is extracted by the projection method, and recognized by using Convolutional Neural Network. Through test shows that, A single ID number image from the extraction to the identification time is about 80ms, the accuracy rate is about 99%, It can be applied to the actual production and living environment.

Fundamental Concepts of Digital Image Processing

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Twogood, R. E.

1983-03-01

The field of a digital-image processing has experienced dramatic growth and increasingly widespread applicability in recent years. Fortunately, advances in computer technology have kept pace with the rapid growth in volume of image data in these and other applications. Digital image processing has become economical in many fields of research and in industrial and military applications. While each application has requirements unique from the others, all are concerned with faster, cheaper, more accurate, and more extensive computation. The trend is toward real-time and interactive operations, where the user of the system obtains preliminary results within a short enough time that the next decision can be made by the human processor without loss of concentration on the task at hand. An example of this is the obtaining of two-dimensional (2-D) computer-aided tomography (CAT) images. A medical decision might be made while the patient is still under observation rather than days later.

AIRSAR Web-Based Data Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Anhua; Van Zyl, Jakob; Kim, Yunjin; Hensley, Scott; Lou, Yunling; Madsen, Soren; Chapman, Bruce; Imel, David; Durden, Stephen; Tung, Wayne

2007-01-01

The AIRSAR automated, Web-based data processing and distribution system is an integrated, end-to-end synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing system. Designed to function under limited resources and rigorous demands, AIRSAR eliminates operational errors and provides for paperless archiving. Also, it provides a yearly tune-up of the processor on flight missions, as well as quality assurance with new radar modes and anomalous data compensation. The software fully integrates a Web-based SAR data-user request subsystem, a data processing system to automatically generate co-registered multi-frequency images from both polarimetric and interferometric data collection modes in 80/40/20 MHz bandwidth, an automated verification quality assurance subsystem, and an automatic data distribution system for use in the remote-sensor community. Features include Survey Automation Processing in which the software can automatically generate a quick-look image from an entire 90-GB SAR raw data 32-MB/s tape overnight without operator intervention. Also, the software allows product ordering and distribution via a Web-based user request system. To make AIRSAR more user friendly, it has been designed to let users search by entering the desired mission flight line (Missions Searching), or to search for any mission flight line by entering the desired latitude and longitude (Map Searching). For precision image automation processing, the software generates the products according to each data processing request stored in the database via a Queue management system. Users are able to have automatic generation of coregistered multi-frequency images as the software generates polarimetric and/or interferometric SAR data processing in ground and/or slant projection according to user processing requests for one of the 12 radar modes.

Sentinel-2 ArcGIS Tool for Environmental Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plesoianu, Alin; Cosmin Sandric, Ionut; Anca, Paula; Vasile, Alexandru; Calugaru, Andreea; Vasile, Cristian; Zavate, Lucian

2017-04-01

This paper addresses one of the biggest challenges regarding Sentinel-2 data, related to the need of an efficient tool to access and process the large collection of images that are available. Consequently, developing a tool for the automation of Sentinel-2 data analysis is the most immediate need. We developed a series of tools for the automation of Sentinel-2 data download and processing for vegetation health monitoring. The tools automatically perform the following operations: downloading image tiles from ESA's Scientific Hub or other venders (Amazon), pre-processing of the images to extract the 10-m bands, creating image composites, applying a series of vegetation indexes (NDVI, OSAVI, etc.) and performing change detection analyses on different temporal data sets. All of these tools run in a dynamic way in the ArcGIS Platform, without the need of creating intermediate datasets (rasters, layers), as the images are processed on-the-fly in order to avoid data duplication. Finally, they allow complete integration with the ArcGIS environment and workflows

Post-processing for improving hyperspectral anomaly detection accuracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jee-Cheng; Jiang, Chi-Ming; Huang, Chen-Liang

2015-10-01

Anomaly detection is an important topic in the exploitation of hyperspectral data. Based on the Reed-Xiaoli (RX) detector and a morphology operator, this research proposes a novel technique for improving the accuracy of hyperspectral anomaly detection. Firstly, the RX-based detector is used to process a given input scene. Then, a post-processing scheme using morphology operator is employed to detect those pixels around high-scoring anomaly pixels. Tests were conducted using two real hyperspectral images with ground truth information and the results based on receiver operating characteristic curves, illustrated that the proposed method reduced the false alarm rates of the RXbased detector.

Machine vision for real time orbital operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vinz, Frank L.

1988-01-01

Machine vision for automation and robotic operation of Space Station era systems has the potential for increasing the efficiency of orbital servicing, repair, assembly and docking tasks. A machine vision research project is described in which a TV camera is used for inputing visual data to a computer so that image processing may be achieved for real time control of these orbital operations. A technique has resulted from this research which reduces computer memory requirements and greatly increases typical computational speed such that it has the potential for development into a real time orbital machine vision system. This technique is called AI BOSS (Analysis of Images by Box Scan and Syntax).

Recent advances in the reconstruction of cranio-maxillofacial defects using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing.

PubMed

Oh, Ji-Hyeon

2018-12-01

With the development of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology, it has been possible to reconstruct the cranio-maxillofacial defect with more accurate preoperative planning, precise patient-specific implants (PSIs), and shorter operation times. The manufacturing processes include subtractive manufacturing and additive manufacturing and should be selected in consideration of the material type, available technology, post-processing, accuracy, lead time, properties, and surface quality. Materials such as titanium, polyethylene, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), hydroxyapatite (HA), poly-DL-lactic acid (PDLLA), polylactide-co-glycolide acid (PLGA), and calcium phosphate are used. Design methods for the reconstruction of cranio-maxillofacial defects include the use of a pre-operative model printed with pre-operative data, printing a cutting guide or template after virtual surgery, a model after virtual surgery printed with reconstructed data using a mirror image, and manufacturing PSIs by directly obtaining PSI data after reconstruction using a mirror image. By selecting the appropriate design method, manufacturing process, and implant material according to the case, it is possible to obtain a more accurate surgical procedure, reduced operation time, the prevention of various complications that can occur using the traditional method, and predictive results compared to the traditional method.

Overview of the land analysis system (LAS)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Quirk, Bruce K.; Olseson, Lyndon R.

1987-01-01

The Land Analysis System (LAS) is a fully integrated digital analysis system designed to support remote sensing, image processing, and geographic information systems research. LAS is being developed through a cooperative effort between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center and the U. S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center. LAS has over 275 analysis modules capable to performing input and output, radiometric correction, geometric registration, signal processing, logical operations, data transformation, classification, spatial analysis, nominal filtering, conversion between raster and vector data types, and display manipulation of image and ancillary data. LAS is currently implant using the Transportable Applications Executive (TAE). While TAE was designed primarily to be transportable, it still provides the necessary components for a standard user interface, terminal handling, input and output services, display management, and intersystem communications. With TAE the analyst uses the same interface to the processing modules regardless of the host computer or operating system. LAS was originally implemented at EROS on a Digital Equipment Corporation computer system under the Virtual Memorial System operating system with DeAnza displays and is presently being converted to run on a Gould Power Node and Sun workstation under the Berkeley System Distribution UNIX operating system.

The advanced linked extended reconnaissance and targeting technology demonstration project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruickshank, James; de Villers, Yves; Maheux, Jean; Edwards, Mark; Gains, David; Rea, Terry; Banbury, Simon; Gauthier, Michelle

2007-06-01

The Advanced Linked Extended Reconnaissance & Targeting (ALERT) Technology Demonstration (TD) project is addressing key operational needs of the future Canadian Army's Surveillance and Reconnaissance forces by fusing multi-sensor and tactical data, developing automated processes, and integrating beyond line-of-sight sensing. We discuss concepts for displaying and fusing multi-sensor and tactical data within an Enhanced Operator Control Station (EOCS). The sensor data can originate from the Coyote's own visible-band and IR cameras, laser rangefinder, and ground-surveillance radar, as well as beyond line-of-sight systems such as a mini-UAV and unattended ground sensors. The authors address technical issues associated with the use of fully digital IR and day video cameras and discuss video-rate image processing developed to assist the operator to recognize poorly visible targets. Automatic target detection and recognition algorithms processing both IR and visible-band images have been investigated to draw the operator's attention to possible targets. The machine generated information display requirements are presented with the human factors engineering aspects of the user interface in this complex environment, with a view to establishing user trust in the automation. The paper concludes with a summary of achievements to date and steps to project completion.

Efficient fuzzy C-means architecture for image segmentation.

PubMed

Li, Hui-Ya; Hwang, Wen-Jyi; Chang, Chia-Yen

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel VLSI architecture for image segmentation. The architecture is based on the fuzzy c-means algorithm with spatial constraint for reducing the misclassification rate. In the architecture, the usual iterative operations for updating the membership matrix and cluster centroid are merged into one single updating process to evade the large storage requirement. In addition, an efficient pipelined circuit is used for the updating process for accelerating the computational speed. Experimental results show that the the proposed circuit is an effective alternative for real-time image segmentation with low area cost and low misclassification rate.

Automatic building identification under bomb damage conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodley, Robert; Noll, Warren; Barker, Joseph; Wunsch, Donald C., II

2009-05-01

Given the vast amount of image intelligence utilized in support of planning and executing military operations, a passive automated image processing capability for target identification is urgently required. Furthermore, transmitting large image streams from remote locations would quickly use available band width (BW) precipitating the need for processing to occur at the sensor location. This paper addresses the problem of automatic target recognition for battle damage assessment (BDA). We utilize an Adaptive Resonance Theory approach to cluster templates of target buildings. The results show that the network successfully classifies targets from non-targets in a virtual test bed environment.

Acoustical holographic recording with coherent optical read-out and image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, H. K.

1980-10-01

New acoustic holographic wave memory devices have been designed for real-time in-situ recording applications. The basic operating principles of these devices and experimental results through the use of some of the prototypes of the devices are presented. Recording media used in the device include thermoplastic resin, Crisco vegetable oil, and Wilson corn oil. In addition, nonlinear coherent optical image processing techniques including equidensitometry, A-D conversion, and pseudo-color, all based on the new contact screen technique, are discussed with regard to the enhancement of the normally poor-resolved acoustical holographic images.

Design and simulation of optoelectronic complementary dual neural elements for realizing a family of normalized vector 'equivalence-nonequivalence' operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krasilenko, Vladimir G.; Nikolsky, Aleksandr I.; Lazarev, Alexander A.; Magas, Taras E.

2010-04-01

Equivalence models (EM) advantages of neural networks (NN) are shown in paper. EMs are based on vectormatrix procedures with basic operations of continuous neurologic: normalized vector operations "equivalence", "nonequivalence", "autoequivalence", "autononequivalence". The capacity of NN on the basis of EM and of its modifications, including auto-and heteroassociative memories for 2D images, exceeds in several times quantity of neurons. Such neuroparadigms are very perspective for processing, recognition, storing large size and strongly correlated images. A family of "normalized equivalence-nonequivalence" neuro-fuzzy logic operations on the based of generalized operations fuzzy-negation, t-norm and s-norm is elaborated. A biologically motivated concept and time pulse encoding principles of continuous logic photocurrent reflexions and sample-storage devices with pulse-width photoconverters have allowed us to design generalized structures for realization of the family of normalized linear vector operations "equivalence"-"nonequivalence". Simulation results show, that processing time in such circuits does not exceed units of micro seconds. Circuits are simple, have low supply voltage (1-3 V), low power consumption (milliwatts), low levels of input signals (microwatts), integrated construction, satisfy the problem of interconnections and cascading.

Playback system designed for X-Band SAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuquan, Liu; Changyong, Dou

2014-03-01

SAR(Synthetic Aperture Radar) has extensive application because it is daylight and weather independent. In particular, X-Band SAR strip map, designed by Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, provides high ground resolution images, at the same time it has a large spatial coverage and a short acquisition time, so it is promising in multi-applications. When sudden disaster comes, the emergency situation acquires radar signal data and image as soon as possible, in order to take action to reduce loss and save lives in the first time. This paper summarizes a type of X-Band SAR playback processing system designed for disaster response and scientific needs. It describes SAR data workflow includes the payload data transmission and reception process. Playback processing system completes signal analysis on the original data, providing SAR level 0 products and quick image. Gigabit network promises radar signal transmission efficiency from recorder to calculation unit. Multi-thread parallel computing and ping pong operation can ensure computation speed. Through gigabit network, multi-thread parallel computing and ping pong operation, high speed data transmission and processing meet the SAR radar data playback real time requirement.

A TV Camera System Which Extracts Feature Points For Non-Contact Eye Movement Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomono, Akira; Iida, Muneo; Kobayashi, Yukio

1990-04-01

This paper proposes a highly efficient camera system which extracts, irrespective of background, feature points such as the pupil, corneal reflection image and dot-marks pasted on a human face in order to detect human eye movement by image processing. Two eye movement detection methods are sugested: One utilizing face orientation as well as pupil position, The other utilizing pupil and corneal reflection images. A method of extracting these feature points using LEDs as illumination devices and a new TV camera system designed to record eye movement are proposed. Two kinds of infra-red LEDs are used. These LEDs are set up a short distance apart and emit polarized light of different wavelengths. One light source beams from near the optical axis of the lens and the other is some distance from the optical axis. The LEDs are operated in synchronization with the camera. The camera includes 3 CCD image pick-up sensors and a prism system with 2 boundary layers. Incident rays are separated into 2 wavelengths by the first boundary layer of the prism. One set of rays forms an image on CCD-3. The other set is split by the half-mirror layer of the prism and forms an image including the regularly reflected component by placing a polarizing filter in front of CCD-1 or another image not including the component by not placing a polarizing filter in front of CCD-2. Thus, three images with different reflection characteristics are obtained by three CCDs. Through the experiment, it is shown that two kinds of subtraction operations between the three images output from CCDs accentuate three kinds of feature points: the pupil and corneal reflection images and the dot-marks. Since the S/N ratio of the subtracted image is extremely high, the thresholding process is simple and allows reducting the intensity of the infra-red illumination. A high speed image processing apparatus using this camera system is decribed. Realtime processing of the subtraction, thresholding and gravity position calculation of the feature points is possible.

Estimation of Damaged Areas due to the 2010 Chile Earthquake and Tsunami Using SAR Imagery of Alos/palsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Made, Pertiwi Jaya Ni; Miura, Fusanori; Besse Rimba, A.

2016-06-01

A large-scale earthquake and tsunami affect thousands of people and cause serious damages worldwide every year. Quick observation of the disaster damage is extremely important for planning effective rescue operations. In the past, acquiring damage information was limited to only field surveys or using aerial photographs. In the last decade, space-borne images were used in many disaster researches, such as tsunami damage detection. In this study, SAR data of ALOS/PALSAR satellite images were used to estimate tsunami damage in the form of inundation areas in Talcahuano, the area near the epicentre of the 2010 Chile earthquake. The image processing consisted of three stages, i.e. pre-processing, analysis processing, and post-processing. It was conducted using multi-temporal images before and after the disaster. In the analysis processing, inundation areas were extracted through the masking processing. It consisted of water masking using a high-resolution optical image of ALOS/AVNIR-2 and elevation masking which built upon the inundation height using DEM image of ASTER-GDEM. The area result was 8.77 Km2. It showed a good result and corresponded to the inundation map of Talcahuano. Future study in another area is needed in order to strengthen the estimation processing method.

Heuristic Analysis Model of Nitrided Layers’ Formation Consisting of the Image Processing and Analysis and Elements of Artificial Intelligence

PubMed Central

Wójcicki, Tomasz; Nowicki, Michał

2016-01-01

The article presents a selected area of research and development concerning the methods of material analysis based on the automatic image recognition of the investigated metallographic sections. The objectives of the analyses of the materials for gas nitriding technology are described. The methods of the preparation of nitrided layers, the steps of the process and the construction and operation of devices for gas nitriding are given. We discuss the possibility of using the methods of digital images processing in the analysis of the materials, as well as their essential task groups: improving the quality of the images, segmentation, morphological transformations and image recognition. The developed analysis model of the nitrided layers formation, covering image processing and analysis techniques, as well as selected methods of artificial intelligence are presented. The model is divided into stages, which are formalized in order to better reproduce their actions. The validation of the presented method is performed. The advantages and limitations of the developed solution, as well as the possibilities of its practical use, are listed. PMID:28773389

Employing image processing techniques for cancer detection using microarray images.

PubMed

Dehghan Khalilabad, Nastaran; Hassanpour, Hamid

2017-02-01

Microarray technology is a powerful genomic tool for simultaneously studying and analyzing the behavior of thousands of genes. The analysis of images obtained from this technology plays a critical role in the detection and treatment of diseases. The aim of the current study is to develop an automated system for analyzing data from microarray images in order to detect cancerous cases. The proposed system consists of three main phases, namely image processing, data mining, and the detection of the disease. The image processing phase performs operations such as refining image rotation, gridding (locating genes) and extracting raw data from images the data mining includes normalizing the extracted data and selecting the more effective genes. Finally, via the extracted data, cancerous cell is recognized. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, microarray database is employed which includes Breast cancer, Myeloid Leukemia and Lymphomas from the Stanford Microarray Database. The results indicate that the proposed system is able to identify the type of cancer from the data set with an accuracy of 95.45%, 94.11%, and 100%, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual enhancement of unmixed multispectral imagery using adaptive smoothing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lemeshewsky, G.P.; Rahman, Z.-U.; Schowengerdt, R.A.; Reichenbach, S.E.

2004-01-01

Adaptive smoothing (AS) has been previously proposed as a method to smooth uniform regions of an image, retain contrast edges, and enhance edge boundaries. The method is an implementation of the anisotropic diffusion process which results in a gray scale image. This paper discusses modifications to the AS method for application to multi-band data which results in a color segmented image. The process was used to visually enhance the three most distinct abundance fraction images produced by the Lagrange constraint neural network learning-based unmixing of Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus multispectral sensor data. A mutual information-based method was applied to select the three most distinct fraction images for subsequent visualization as a red, green, and blue composite. A reported image restoration technique (partial restoration) was applied to the multispectral data to reduce unmixing error, although evaluation of the performance of this technique was beyond the scope of this paper. The modified smoothing process resulted in a color segmented image with homogeneous regions separated by sharpened, coregistered multiband edges. There was improved class separation with the segmented image, which has importance to subsequent operations involving data classification.

High-performance electronic image stabilisation for shift and rotation correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Steve C. J.; Hickman, D. L.; Wu, F.

2014-06-01

A novel low size, weight and power (SWaP) video stabiliser called HALO™ is presented that uses a SoC to combine the high processing bandwidth of an FPGA, with the signal processing flexibility of a CPU. An image based architecture is presented that can adapt the tiling of frames to cope with changing scene dynamics. A real-time implementation is then discussed that can generate several hundred optical flow vectors per video frame, to accurately calculate the unwanted rigid body translation and rotation of camera shake. The performance of the HALO™ stabiliser is comprehensively benchmarked against the respected Deshaker 3.0 off-line stabiliser plugin to VirtualDub. Eight different videos are used for benchmarking, simulating: battlefield, surveillance, security and low-level flight applications in both visible and IR wavebands. The results show that HALO™ rivals the performance of Deshaker within its operating envelope. Furthermore, HALO™ may be easily reconfigured to adapt to changing operating conditions or requirements; and can be used to host other video processing functionality like image distortion correction, fusion and contrast enhancement.

Manifold Embedding and Semantic Segmentation for Intraoperative Guidance With Hyperspectral Brain Imaging.

PubMed

Ravi, Daniele; Fabelo, Himar; Callic, Gustavo Marrero; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2017-09-01

Recent advances in hyperspectral imaging have made it a promising solution for intra-operative tissue characterization, with the advantages of being non-contact, non-ionizing, and non-invasive. Working with hyperspectral images in vivo, however, is not straightforward as the high dimensionality of the data makes real-time processing challenging. In this paper, a novel dimensionality reduction scheme and a new processing pipeline are introduced to obtain a detailed tumor classification map for intra-operative margin definition during brain surgery. However, existing approaches to dimensionality reduction based on manifold embedding can be time consuming and may not guarantee a consistent result, thus hindering final tissue classification. The proposed framework aims to overcome these problems through a process divided into two steps: dimensionality reduction based on an extension of the T-distributed stochastic neighbor approach is first performed and then a semantic segmentation technique is applied to the embedded results by using a Semantic Texton Forest for tissue classification. Detailed in vivo validation of the proposed method has been performed to demonstrate the potential clinical value of the system.

Processing system of jaws tomograms for pathology identification and surgical guide modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putrik, M. B.; Lavrentyeva, Yu. E.; Ivanov, V. Yu.

2015-11-01

The aim of the study is to create an image processing system, which allows dentists to find pathological resorption and to build surgical guide surface automatically. X-rays images of jaws from cone beam tomography or spiral computed tomography are the initial data for processing. One patient's examination always includes up to 600 images (or tomograms), that's why the development of processing system for fast automation search of pathologies is necessary. X-rays images can be useful not for only illness diagnostic but for treatment planning too. We have studied the case of dental implantation - for successful surgical manipulations surgical guides are used. We have created a processing system that automatically builds jaw and teeth boundaries on the x-ray image. After this step, obtained teeth boundaries used for surgical guide surface modeling and jaw boundaries limit the area for further pathologies search. Criterion for the presence of pathological resorption zones inside the limited area is based on statistical investigation. After described actions, it is possible to manufacture surgical guide using 3D printer and apply it in surgical operation.

Acquisition performance of LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral imager in real-time mode of operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakim, P. R.; Permala, R.; Jayani, A. P. S.

2018-05-01

LAPAN-A3/IPB satellite was launched in June 2016 and its multispectral imager has been producing Indonesian coverage images. In order to improve its support for remote sensing application, the imager should produce images with high quality and quantity. To improve the quantity of LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral image captured, image acquisition could be executed in real-time mode from LAPAN ground station in Bogor when the satellite passes west Indonesia region. This research analyses the performance of LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral imager acquisition in real-time mode, in terms of image quality and quantity, under assumption of several on-board and ground segment limitations. Results show that with real-time operation mode, LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral imager could produce twice as much as image coverage compare to recorded mode. However, the images produced in real-time mode will have slightly degraded quality due to image compression process involved. Based on several analyses that have been done in this research, it is recommended to use real-time acquisition mode whenever it possible, unless for some circumstances that strictly not allow any quality degradation of the images produced.

Automatic cloud coverage assessment of Formosat-2 image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Kuo-Hsien

2011-11-01

Formosat-2 satellite equips with the high-spatial-resolution (2m ground sampling distance) remote sensing instrument. It has been being operated on the daily-revisiting mission orbit by National Space organization (NSPO) of Taiwan since May 21 2004. NSPO has also serving as one of the ground receiving stations for daily processing the received Formosat- 2 images. The current cloud coverage assessment of Formosat-2 image for NSPO Image Processing System generally consists of two major steps. Firstly, an un-supervised K-means method is used for automatically estimating the cloud statistic of Formosat-2 image. Secondly, manual estimation of cloud coverage from Formosat-2 image is processed by manual examination. Apparently, a more accurate Automatic Cloud Coverage Assessment (ACCA) method certainly increases the efficiency of processing step 2 with a good prediction of cloud statistic. In this paper, mainly based on the research results from Chang et al, Irish, and Gotoh, we propose a modified Formosat-2 ACCA method which considered pre-processing and post-processing analysis. For pre-processing analysis, cloud statistic is determined by using un-supervised K-means classification, Sobel's method, Otsu's method, non-cloudy pixels reexamination, and cross-band filter method. Box-Counting fractal method is considered as a post-processing tool to double check the results of pre-processing analysis for increasing the efficiency of manual examination.

CMOS image sensor with contour enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Liya; Lai, Xiaofeng; Chen, Kun; Yuan, Xianghui

2010-10-01

Imitating the signal acquisition and processing of vertebrate retina, a CMOS image sensor with bionic pre-processing circuit is designed. Integration of signal-process circuit on-chip can reduce the requirement of bandwidth and precision of the subsequent interface circuit, and simplify the design of the computer-vision system. This signal pre-processing circuit consists of adaptive photoreceptor, spatial filtering resistive network and Op-Amp calculation circuit. The adaptive photoreceptor unit with a dynamic range of approximately 100 dB has a good self-adaptability for the transient changes in light intensity instead of intensity level itself. Spatial low-pass filtering resistive network used to mimic the function of horizontal cell, is composed of the horizontal resistor (HRES) circuit and OTA (Operational Transconductance Amplifier) circuit. HRES circuit, imitating dendrite of the neuron cell, comprises of two series MOS transistors operated in weak inversion region. Appending two diode-connected n-channel transistors to a simple transconductance amplifier forms the OTA Op-Amp circuit, which provides stable bias voltage for the gate of MOS transistors in HRES circuit, while serves as an OTA voltage follower to provide input voltage for the network nodes. The Op-Amp calculation circuit with a simple two-stage Op-Amp achieves the image contour enhancing. By adjusting the bias voltage of the resistive network, the smoothing effect can be tuned to change the effect of image's contour enhancement. Simulations of cell circuit and 16×16 2D circuit array are implemented using CSMC 0.5μm DPTM CMOS process.

Comparison of turbulence mitigation algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozacik, Stephen T.; Paolini, Aaron; Sherman, Ariel; Bonnett, James; Kelmelis, Eric

2017-07-01

When capturing imagery over long distances, atmospheric turbulence often degrades the data, especially when observation paths are close to the ground or in hot environments. These issues manifest as time-varying scintillation and warping effects that decrease the effective resolution of the sensor and reduce actionable intelligence. In recent years, several image processing approaches to turbulence mitigation have shown promise. Each of these algorithms has different computational requirements, usability demands, and degrees of independence from camera sensors. They also produce different degrees of enhancement when applied to turbulent imagery. Additionally, some of these algorithms are applicable to real-time operational scenarios while others may only be suitable for postprocessing workflows. EM Photonics has been developing image-processing-based turbulence mitigation technology since 2005. We will compare techniques from the literature with our commercially available, real-time, GPU-accelerated turbulence mitigation software. These comparisons will be made using real (not synthetic), experimentally obtained data for a variety of conditions, including varying optical hardware, imaging range, subjects, and turbulence conditions. Comparison metrics will include image quality, video latency, computational complexity, and potential for real-time operation. Additionally, we will present a technique for quantitatively comparing turbulence mitigation algorithms using real images of radial resolution targets.

Computer-based image analysis of one-dimensional electrophoretic gels used for the separation of DNA restriction fragments.

PubMed Central

Gray, A J; Beecher, D E; Olson, M V

1984-01-01

A stand-alone, interactive computer system has been developed that automates the analysis of ethidium bromide-stained agarose and acrylamide gels on which DNA restriction fragments have been separated by size. High-resolution digital images of the gels are obtained using a camera that contains a one-dimensional, 2048-pixel photodiode array that is mechanically translated through 2048 discrete steps in a direction perpendicular to the gel lanes. An automatic band-detection algorithm is used to establish the positions of the gel bands. A color-video graphics system, on which both the gel image and a variety of operator-controlled overlays are displayed, allows the operator to visualize and interact with critical stages of the analysis. The principal interactive steps involve defining the regions of the image that are to be analyzed and editing the results of the band-detection process. The system produces a machine-readable output file that contains the positions, intensities, and descriptive classifications of all the bands, as well as documentary information about the experiment. This file is normally further processed on a larger computer to obtain fragment-size assignments. Images PMID:6320097

Improved head-controlled TV system produces high-quality remote image

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goertz, R.; Lindberg, J.; Mingesz, D.; Potts, C.

1967-01-01

Manipulator operator uses an improved resolution tv camera/monitor positioning system to view the remote handling and processing of reactive, flammable, explosive, or contaminated materials. The pan and tilt motions of the camera and monitor are slaved to follow the corresponding motions of the operators head.

Compact hybrid optoelectrical unit for image processing and recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Gang; Jin, Guofan; Wu, Minxian; Liu, Haisong; He, Qingsheng; Yuan, ShiFu

1998-07-01

In this paper a compact opto-electric unit (CHOEU) for digital image processing and recognition is proposed. The central part of CHOEU is an incoherent optical correlator, which is realized with a SHARP QA-1200 8.4 inch active matrix TFT liquid crystal display panel which is used as two real-time spatial light modulators for both the input image and reference template. CHOEU can do two main processing works. One is digital filtering; the other is object matching. Using CHOEU an edge-detection operator is realized to extract the edges from the input images. Then the reprocessed images are sent into the object recognition unit for identifying the important targets. A novel template- matching method is proposed for gray-tome image recognition. A positive and negative cycle-encoding method is introduced to realize the absolute difference measurement pixel- matching on a correlator structure simply. The system has god fault-tolerance ability for rotation distortion, Gaussian noise disturbance or information losing. The experiments are given at the end of this paper.

Reducing uncertainty in wind turbine blade health inspection with image processing techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Huiyi

Structural health inspection has been widely applied in the operation of wind farms to find early cracks in wind turbine blades (WTBs). Increased numbers of turbines and expanded rotor diameters are driving up the workloads and safety risks for site employees. Therefore, it is important to automate the inspection process as well as minimize the uncertainties involved in routine blade health inspection. In addition, crack documentation and trending is vital to assess rotor blade and turbine reliability in the 20 year designed life span. A new crack recognition and classification algorithm is described that can support automated structural health inspection of the surface of large composite WTBs. The first part of the study investigated the feasibility of digital image processing in WTB health inspection and defined the capability of numerically detecting cracks as small as hairline thickness. The second part of the study identified and analyzed the uncertainty of the digital image processing method. A self-learning algorithm was proposed to recognize and classify cracks without comparing a blade image to a library of crack images. The last part of the research quantified the uncertainty in the field conditions and the image processing methods.

Global Ultraviolet Imaging Processing for the GGS Polar Visible Imaging System (VIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frank, L. A.

1997-01-01

The Visible Imaging System (VIS) on Polar spacecraft of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center was launched into orbit about Earth on February 24, 1996. Since shortly after launch, the Earth Camera subsystem of the VIS has been operated nearly continuously to acquire far ultraviolet, global images of Earth and its northern and southern auroral ovals. The only exceptions to this continuous imaging occurred for approximately 10 days at the times of the Polar spacecraft re-orientation maneuvers in October, 1996 and April, 1997. Since launch, approximately 525,000 images have been acquired with the VIS Earth Camera. The VIS instrument operational health continues to be excellent. Since launch, all systems have operated nominally with all voltages, currents, and temperatures remaining at nominal values. In addition, the sensitivity of the Earth Camera to ultraviolet light has remained constant throughout the operation period. Revised flight software was uploaded to the VIS in order to compensate for the spacecraft wobble. This is accomplished by electronic shuttering of the sensor in synchronization with the 6-second period of the wobble, thus recovering the original spatial resolution obtainable with the VIS Earth Camera. In addition, software patches were uploaded to make the VIS immune to signal dropouts that occur in the sliprings of the despun platform mechanism. These changes have worked very well. The VIS and in particular the VIS Earth Camera is fully operational and will continue to acquire global auroral images as the sun progresses toward solar maximum conditions after the turn of the century.

Real-Time Nonlinear Optical Information Processing.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-06-01

operations aree presented. One approach realizes the halftone method of nonlinear optical processing in real time by replacing the conventional...photographic recording medium with a real-time image transducer. In the second approach halftoning is eliminated and the real-time device is used directly

Automated baseline change detection -- Phases 1 and 2. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Byler, E.

1997-10-31

The primary objective of this project is to apply robotic and optical sensor technology to the operational inspection of mixed toxic and radioactive waste stored in barrels, using Automated Baseline Change Detection (ABCD), based on image subtraction. Absolute change detection is based on detecting any visible physical changes, regardless of cause, between a current inspection image of a barrel and an archived baseline image of the same barrel. Thus, in addition to rust, the ABCD system can also detect corrosion, leaks, dents, and bulges. The ABCD approach and method rely on precise camera positioning and repositioning relative to the barrelmore » and on feature recognition in images. The ABCD image processing software was installed on a robotic vehicle developed under a related DOE/FETC contract DE-AC21-92MC29112 Intelligent Mobile Sensor System (IMSS) and integrated with the electronics and software. This vehicle was designed especially to navigate in DOE Waste Storage Facilities. Initial system testing was performed at Fernald in June 1996. After some further development and more extensive integration the prototype integrated system was installed and tested at the Radioactive Waste Management Facility (RWMC) at INEEL beginning in April 1997 through the present (November 1997). The integrated system, composed of ABCD imaging software and IMSS mobility base, is called MISS EVE (Mobile Intelligent Sensor System--Environmental Validation Expert). Evaluation of the integrated system in RWMC Building 628, containing approximately 10,000 drums, demonstrated an easy to use system with the ability to properly navigate through the facility, image all the defined drums, and process the results into a report delivered to the operator on a GUI interface and on hard copy. Further work is needed to make the brassboard system more operationally robust.« less

Simultaneous parametric generation and up-conversion of entangled optical images

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saygin, M. Yu., E-mail: mihasyu@gmail.com; Chirkin, A. S., E-mail: aschirkin@rambler.r

A quantum theory of parametric amplification and frequency conversion of an optical image in coupled nonlinear optical processes that include one parametric amplification process at high-frequency pumping and two up-conversion processes in the same pump field is developed. The field momentum operator that takes into account the diffraction and group velocities of the waves is used to derive the quantum equations related to the spatial dynamics of the images during the interaction. An optical scheme for the amplification and conversion of a close image is considered. The mean photon number density and signal-to-noise ratio are calculated in the fixed-pump-field approximationmore » for images at various frequencies. It has been established that the signal-to-noise ratio decreases with increasing interaction length in the amplified image and increases in the images at the generated frequencies, tending to asymptotic values for all interacting waves. The variance of the difference of the numbers of photons is calculated for various pairs of frequencies. The quantum entanglement of the optical images formed in a high-frequency pump field is shown to be converted to higher frequencies during the generation of sum frequencies. Thus, two pairs of entangled optical images are produced in the process considered.« less

Southwest U.S. Imagery (GOES-WEST) - Satellite Services Division / Office

Science.gov Websites

of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution Skip Navigation Link NESDIS banner image and link Information Service Home Page Default Office of Satellite and Product Operations banner image and link to OSPO Color -- Sea/Lake Ice -- Sea Surface Height -- Sea Surface Temperatures -- Tropical Systems Product List

PScan 1.0: flexible software framework for polygon based multiphoton microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yongxiao; Lee, Woei Ming

2016-12-01

Multiphoton laser scanning microscopes exhibit highly localized nonlinear optical excitation and are powerful instruments for in-vivo deep tissue imaging. Customized multiphoton microscopy has a significantly superior performance for in-vivo imaging because of precise control over the scanning and detection system. To date, there have been several flexible software platforms catered to custom built microscopy systems i.e. ScanImage, HelioScan, MicroManager, that perform at imaging speeds of 30-100fps. In this paper, we describe a flexible software framework for high speed imaging systems capable of operating from 5 fps to 1600 fps. The software is based on the MATLAB image processing toolbox. It has the capability to communicate directly with a high performing imaging card (Matrox Solios eA/XA), thus retaining high speed acquisition. The program is also designed to communicate with LabVIEW and Fiji for instrument control and image processing. Pscan 1.0 can handle high imaging rates and contains sufficient flexibility for users to adapt to their high speed imaging systems.

GPU-Based Real-Time Volumetric Ultrasound Image Reconstruction for a Ring Array

PubMed Central

Choe, Jung Woo; Nikoozadeh, Amin; Oralkan, Ömer; Khuri-Yakub, Butrus T.

2014-01-01

Synthetic phased array (SPA) beamforming with Hadamard coding and aperture weighting is an optimal option for real-time volumetric imaging with a ring array, a particularly attractive geometry in intracardiac and intravascular applications. However, the imaging frame rate of this method is limited by the immense computational load required in synthetic beamforming. For fast imaging with a ring array, we developed graphics processing unit (GPU)-based, real-time image reconstruction software that exploits massive data-level parallelism in beamforming operations. The GPU-based software reconstructs and displays three cross-sectional images at 45 frames per second (fps). This frame rate is 4.5 times higher than that for our previously-developed multi-core CPU-based software. In an alternative imaging mode, it shows one B-mode image rotating about the axis and its maximum intensity projection (MIP), processed at a rate of 104 fps. This paper describes the image reconstruction procedure on the GPU platform and presents the experimental images obtained using this software. PMID:23529080

Rotation covariant image processing for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Skibbe, Henrik; Reisert, Marco

2013-01-01

With the advent of novel biomedical 3D image acquisition techniques, the efficient and reliable analysis of volumetric images has become more and more important. The amount of data is enormous and demands an automated processing. The applications are manifold, ranging from image enhancement, image reconstruction, and image description to object/feature detection and high-level contextual feature extraction. In most scenarios, it is expected that geometric transformations alter the output in a mathematically well-defined manner. In this paper we emphasis on 3D translations and rotations. Many algorithms rely on intensity or low-order tensorial-like descriptions to fulfill this demand. This paper proposes a general mathematical framework based on mathematical concepts and theories transferred from mathematical physics and harmonic analysis into the domain of image analysis and pattern recognition. Based on two basic operations, spherical tensor differentiation and spherical tensor multiplication, we show how to design a variety of 3D image processing methods in an efficient way. The framework has already been applied to several biomedical applications ranging from feature and object detection tasks to image enhancement and image restoration techniques. In this paper, the proposed methods are applied on a variety of different 3D data modalities stemming from medical and biological sciences.

Commercial Implementation of Ultrasonic Velocity Imaging Methods via Cooperative Agreement Between NASA Lewis Research Center and Sonix, Inc.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, Don J.; Hendricks, J. Lynne; Whalen, Mike F.; Bodis, James R.; Martin, Katherine

1996-01-01

This article describes the commercial implementation of ultrasonic velocity imaging methods developed and refined at NASA Lewis Research Center on the Sonix c-scan inspection system. Two velocity imaging methods were implemented: thickness-based and non-thickness-based reflector plate methods. The article demonstrates capabilities of the commercial implementation and gives the detailed operating procedures required for Sonix customers to achieve optimum velocity imaging results. This commercial implementation of velocity imaging provides a 100x speed increase in scanning and processing over the lab-based methods developed at LeRC. The significance of this cooperative effort is that the aerospace and other materials development-intensive industries which use extensive ultrasonic inspection for process control and failure analysis will now have an alternative, highly accurate imaging method commercially available.

A survey of landmine detection using hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makki, Ihab; Younes, Rafic; Francis, Clovis; Bianchi, Tiziano; Zucchetti, Massimo

2017-02-01

Hyperspectral imaging is a trending technique in remote sensing that finds its application in many different areas, such as agriculture, mapping, target detection, food quality monitoring, etc. This technique gives the ability to remotely identify the composition of each pixel of the image. Therefore, it is a natural candidate for the purpose of landmine detection, thanks to its inherent safety and fast response time. In this paper, we will present the results of several studies that employed hyperspectral imaging for the purpose of landmine detection, discussing the different signal processing techniques used in this framework for hyperspectral image processing and target detection. Our purpose is to highlight the progresses attained in the detection of landmines using hyperspectral imaging and to identify possible perspectives for future work, in order to achieve a better detection in real-time operation mode.

High-contrast imaging in the cloud with klipReduce and Findr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haug-Baltzell, Asher; Males, Jared R.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Wu, Ya-Lin; Merchant, Nirav; Lyons, Eric; Close, Laird M.

2016-08-01

Astronomical data sets are growing ever larger, and the area of high contrast imaging of exoplanets is no exception. With the advent of fast, low-noise detectors operating at 10 to 1000 Hz, huge numbers of images can be taken during a single hours-long observation. High frame rates offer several advantages, such as improved registration, frame selection, and improved speckle calibration. However, advanced image processing algorithms are computationally challenging to apply. Here we describe a parallelized, cloud-based data reduction system developed for the Magellan Adaptive Optics VisAO camera, which is capable of rapidly exploring tens of thousands of parameter sets affecting the Karhunen-Loève image processing (KLIP) algorithm to produce high-quality direct images of exoplanets. We demonstrate these capabilities with a visible wavelength high contrast data set of a hydrogen-accreting brown dwarf companion.

Spectral imaging applications: Remote sensing, environmental monitoring, medicine, military operations, factory automation and manufacturing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gat, N.; Subramanian, S.; Barhen, J.; Toomarian, N.

1996-01-01

This paper reviews the activities at OKSI related to imaging spectroscopy presenting current and future applications of the technology. The authors discuss the development of several systems including hardware, signal processing, data classification algorithms and benchmarking techniques to determine algorithm performance. Signal processing for each application is tailored by incorporating the phenomenology appropriate to the process, into the algorithms. Pixel signatures are classified using techniques such as principal component analyses, generalized eigenvalue analysis and novel very fast neural network methods. The major hyperspectral imaging systems developed at OKSI include the Intelligent Missile Seeker (IMS) demonstration project for real-time target/decoy discrimination, and the Thermal InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (TIRIS) for detection and tracking of toxic plumes and gases. In addition, systems for applications in medical photodiagnosis, manufacturing technology, and for crop monitoring are also under development.

Image-guided positioning and tracking.

PubMed

Ruan, Dan; Kupelian, Patrick; Low, Daniel A

2011-01-01

Radiation therapy aims at maximizing tumor control while minimizing normal tissue complication. The introduction of stereotactic treatment explores the volume effect and achieves dose escalation to tumor target with small margins. The use of ablative irradiation dose and sharp dose gradients requires accurate tumor definition and alignment between patient and treatment geometry. Patient geometry variation during treatment may significantly compromise the conformality of delivered dose and must be managed properly. Setup error and interfraction/intrafraction motion are incorporated in the target definition process by expanding the clinical target volume to planning target volume, whereas the alignment between patient and treatment geometry is obtained with an adaptive control process, by taking immediate actions in response to closely monitored patient geometry. This article focuses on the monitoring and adaptive response aspect of the problem. The term "image" in "image guidance" will be used in a most general sense, to be inclusive of some important point-based monitoring systems that can be considered as degenerate cases of imaging. Image-guided motion adaptive control, as a comprehensive system, involves a hierarchy of decisions, each of which balances simplicity versus flexibility and accuracy versus robustness. Patient specifics and machine specifics at the treatment facility also need to be incorporated into the decision-making process. Identifying operation bottlenecks from a system perspective and making informed compromises are crucial in the proper selection of image-guidance modality, the motion management mechanism, and the respective operation modes. Not intended as an exhaustive exposition, this article focuses on discussing the major issues and development principles for image-guided motion management systems. We hope these information and methodologies will facilitate conscientious practitioners to adopt image-guided motion management systems accounting for patient and institute specifics and to embrace advances in knowledge and new technologies subsequent to the publication of this article.

Computer-assisted image processing to detect spores from the fungus Pandora neoaphidis.

PubMed

Korsnes, Reinert; Westrum, Karin; Fløistad, Erling; Klingen, Ingeborg

2016-01-01

This contribution demonstrates an example of experimental automatic image analysis to detect spores prepared on microscope slides derived from trapping. The application is to monitor aerial spore counts of the entomopathogenic fungus Pandora neoaphidis which may serve as a biological control agent for aphids. Automatic detection of such spores can therefore play a role in plant protection. The present approach for such detection is a modification of traditional manual microscopy of prepared slides, where autonomous image recording precedes computerised image analysis. The purpose of the present image analysis is to support human visual inspection of imagery data - not to replace it. The workflow has three components:•Preparation of slides for microscopy.•Image recording.•Computerised image processing where the initial part is, as usual, segmentation depending on the actual data product. Then comes identification of blobs, calculation of principal axes of blobs, symmetry operations and projection on a three parameter egg shape space.

DHMI: dynamic holographic microscopy interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Xuefei; Zheng, Yujie; Lee, Woei Ming

2016-12-01

Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is a powerful in-vitro biological imaging tool. In this paper, we report a fully automated off-axis digital holographic microscopy system completed with a graphical user interface in the Matlab environment. The interface primarily includes Fourier domain processing, phase reconstruction, aberration compensation and autofocusing. A variety of imaging operations such as region of interest selection, de-noising mode (filtering and averaging), low frame rate imaging for immediate reconstruction and high frame rate imaging routine ( 27 fps) are implemented to facilitate ease of use.

Trajectory-based morphological operators: a model for efficient image processing.

PubMed

Jimeno-Morenilla, Antonio; Pujol, Francisco A; Molina-Carmona, Rafael; Sánchez-Romero, José L; Pujol, Mar

2014-01-01

Mathematical morphology has been an area of intensive research over the last few years. Although many remarkable advances have been achieved throughout these years, there is still a great interest in accelerating morphological operations in order for them to be implemented in real-time systems. In this work, we present a new model for computing mathematical morphology operations, the so-called morphological trajectory model (MTM), in which a morphological filter will be divided into a sequence of basic operations. Then, a trajectory-based morphological operation (such as dilation, and erosion) is defined as the set of points resulting from the ordered application of the instant basic operations. The MTM approach allows working with different structuring elements, such as disks, and from the experiments, it can be extracted that our method is independent of the structuring element size and can be easily applied to industrial systems and high-resolution images.

Architecture and data processing alternatives for the TSE computer. Volume 2: Extraction of topological information from an image by the Tse computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, J. R.; Bodenheimer, R. E.

1976-01-01

A simple programmable Tse processor organization and arithmetic operations necessary for extraction of the desired topological information are described. Hardware additions to this organization are discussed along with trade-offs peculiar to the tse computing concept. An improved organization is presented along with the complementary software for the various arithmetic operations. The performance of the two organizations is compared in terms of speed, power, and cost. Software routines developed to extract the desired information from an image are included.

[Digital imaging and robotics in endoscopic surgery].

PubMed

Go, P M

1998-05-23

The introduction of endoscopical surgery has among other things influenced technical developments in surgery. Owing to digitalisation, major progress will be made in imaging and in the sophisticated technology sometimes called robotics. Digital storage makes the results of imaging diagnostics (e.g. the results of radiological examination) suitable for transmission via video conference systems for telediagnostic purposes. The availability of digital video technique renders possible the processing, storage and retrieval of moving images as well. During endoscopical operations use may be made of a robot arm which replaces the camera man. The arm does not grow tired and provides a stable image. The surgeon himself can operate or address the arm and it can remember fixed image positions to which it can return if ordered to do so. The next step is to carry out surgical manipulations via a robot arm. This may make operations more patient-friendly. A robot arm can also have remote control: telerobotics. At the Internet site of this journal a number of supplements to this article can be found, for instance three-dimensional (3D) illustrations (which is the purpose of the 3D spectacles enclosed with this issue) and a quiz (http:@appendix.niwi. knaw.nl).

MAHLI on Mars: lessons learned operating a geoscience camera on a landed payload robotic arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aileen Yingst, R.; Edgett, Kenneth S.; Kennedy, Megan R.; Krezoski, Gillian M.; McBride, Marie J.; Minitti, Michelle E.; Ravine, Michael A.; Williams, Rebecca M. E.

2016-06-01

The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is a 2-megapixel, color camera with resolution as high as 13.9 µm pixel-1. MAHLI has operated successfully on the Martian surface for over 1150 Martian days (sols) aboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity. During that time MAHLI acquired images to support science and science-enabling activities, including rock and outcrop textural analysis; sand characterization to further the understanding of global sand properties and processes; support of other instrument observations; sample extraction site documentation; range-finding for arm and instrument placement; rover hardware and instrument monitoring and safety; terrain assessment; landscape geomorphology; and support of rover robotic arm commissioning. Operation of the instrument has demonstrated that imaging fully illuminated, dust-free targets yields the best results, with complementary information obtained from shadowed images. The light-emitting diodes (LEDs) allow satisfactory night imaging but do not improve daytime shadowed imaging. MAHLI's combination of fine-scale, science-driven resolution, RGB color, the ability to focus over a large range of distances, and relatively large field of view (FOV), have maximized the return of science and science-enabling observations given the MSL mission architecture and constraints.

Restoration for Noise Removal in Quantum Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Kai; Zhang, Yi; Lu, Kai; Wang, Xiaoping

2017-09-01

Quantum computation has become increasingly attractive in the past few decades due to its extraordinary performance. As a result, some studies focusing on image representation and processing via quantum mechanics have been done. However, few of them have considered the quantum operations for images restoration. To address this problem, three noise removal algorithms are proposed in this paper based on the novel enhanced quantum representation model, oriented to two kinds of noise pollution (Salt-and-Pepper noise and Gaussian noise). For the first algorithm Q-Mean, it is designed to remove the Salt-and-Pepper noise. The noise points are extracted through comparisons with the adjacent pixel values, after which the restoration operation is finished by mean filtering. As for the second method Q-Gauss, a special mask is applied to weaken the Gaussian noise pollution. The third algorithm Q-Adapt is effective for the source image containing unknown noise. The type of noise can be judged through the quantum statistic operations for the color value of the whole image, and then different noise removal algorithms are used to conduct image restoration respectively. Performance analysis reveals that our methods can offer high restoration quality and achieve significant speedup through inherent parallelism of quantum computation.

Fixed-point image orthorectification algorithms for reduced computational cost

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, Joseph Clinton

Imaging systems have been applied to many new applications in recent years. With the advent of low-cost, low-power focal planes and more powerful, lower cost computers, remote sensing applications have become more wide spread. Many of these applications require some form of geolocation, especially when relative distances are desired. However, when greater global positional accuracy is needed, orthorectification becomes necessary. Orthorectification is the process of projecting an image onto a Digital Elevation Map (DEM), which removes terrain distortions and corrects the perspective distortion by changing the viewing angle to be perpendicular to the projection plane. Orthorectification is used in disaster tracking, landscape management, wildlife monitoring and many other applications. However, orthorectification is a computationally expensive process due to floating point operations and divisions in the algorithm. To reduce the computational cost of on-board processing, two novel algorithm modifications are proposed. One modification is projection utilizing fixed-point arithmetic. Fixed point arithmetic removes the floating point operations and reduces the processing time by operating only on integers. The second modification is replacement of the division inherent in projection with a multiplication of the inverse. The inverse must operate iteratively. Therefore, the inverse is replaced with a linear approximation. As a result of these modifications, the processing time of projection is reduced by a factor of 1.3x with an average pixel position error of 0.2% of a pixel size for 128-bit integer processing and over 4x with an average pixel position error of less than 13% of a pixel size for a 64-bit integer processing. A secondary inverse function approximation is also developed that replaces the linear approximation with a quadratic. The quadratic approximation produces a more accurate approximation of the inverse, allowing for an integer multiplication calculation to be used in place of the traditional floating point division. This method increases the throughput of the orthorectification operation by 38% when compared to floating point processing. Additionally, this method improves the accuracy of the existing integer-based orthorectification algorithms in terms of average pixel distance, increasing the accuracy of the algorithm by more than 5x. The quadratic function reduces the pixel position error to 2% and is still 2.8x faster than the 128-bit floating point algorithm.

GF-3 SAR Image Despeckling Based on the Improved Non-Local Means Using Non-Subsampled Shearlet Transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, R.; Sun, Z.

2018-04-01

GF-3 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are rich in information and have obvious sparse features. However, the speckle appears in the GF-3 SAR images due to the coherent imaging system and it hinders the interpretation of images seriously. Recently, Shearlet is applied to the image processing with its best sparse representation. A new Shearlet-transform-based method is proposed in this paper based on the improved non-local means. Firstly, the logarithmic operation and the non-subsampled Shearlet transformation are applied to the GF-3 SAR image. Secondly, in order to solve the problems that the image details are smoothed overly and the weight distribution is affected by the speckle, a new non-local means is used for the transformed high frequency coefficient. Thirdly, the Shearlet reconstruction is carried out. Finally, the final filtered image is obtained by an exponential operation. Experimental results demonstrate that, compared with other despeckling methods, the proposed method can suppress the speckle effectively in homogeneous regions and has better capability of edge preserving.

A self-teaching image processing and voice-recognition-based, intelligent and interactive system to educate visually impaired children

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, Asim; Farooq, Umar; Mahmood, Hassan; Asad, Muhammad Usman; Khan, Akrama; Atiq, Hafiz Muhammad

2010-02-01

A self teaching image processing and voice recognition based system is developed to educate visually impaired children, chiefly in their primary education. System comprises of a computer, a vision camera, an ear speaker and a microphone. Camera, attached with the computer system is mounted on the ceiling opposite (on the required angle) to the desk on which the book is placed. Sample images and voices in the form of instructions and commands of English, Urdu alphabets, Numeric Digits, Operators and Shapes are already stored in the database. A blind child first reads the embossed character (object) with the help of fingers than he speaks the answer, name of the character, shape etc into the microphone. With the voice command of a blind child received by the microphone, image is taken by the camera which is processed by MATLAB® program developed with the help of Image Acquisition and Image processing toolbox and generates a response or required set of instructions to child via ear speaker, resulting in self education of a visually impaired child. Speech recognition program is also developed in MATLAB® with the help of Data Acquisition and Signal Processing toolbox which records and process the command of the blind child.

Layers within the Valles Marineris: Clues to the Ancient Crust of Mars - High Resolution Image

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This high resolution picture of the Martian surface was obtained in the early evening of January 1, 1998 by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), shortly after the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft began it's 80th orbit. Seen in this view are a plateau and surrounding steep slopes within the Valles Marineris, the large system of canyons that stretches 4000 km (2500 mi) along the equator of Mars. The image covers a tiny fraction of the canyons at very high resolution: it extends only 9.8 km by 17.3 km (6.1 mi by 10.7 mi) but captures features as small as 6 m (20 ft) across. The highest terrain in the image is the relatively smooth plateau near the center. Slopes descend to the north and south (upper and lower part of image, respectively) in broad, debris-filled gullies with intervening rocky spurs. Multiple rock layers, varying from a few to a few tens of meters thick, are visible in the steep slopes on the spurs and gullies. Layered rocks on Earth form from sedimentary processes (such as those that formed the layered rocks now seen in Arizona's Grand Canyon) and volcanic processes (such as layering seen in the Waimea Canyon on the island of Kauai). Both origins are possible for the Martian layered rocks seen in this image. In either case, the total thickness of the layered rocks seen in this image implies a complex and extremely active early history for geologic processes on Mars.

Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Development and application of computer assisted optimal method for treatment of femoral neck fracture.

PubMed

Wang, Monan; Zhang, Kai; Yang, Ning

2018-04-09

To help doctors decide their treatment from the aspect of mechanical analysis, the work built a computer assisted optimal system for treatment of femoral neck fracture oriented to clinical application. The whole system encompassed the following three parts: Preprocessing module, finite element mechanical analysis module, post processing module. Preprocessing module included parametric modeling of bone, parametric modeling of fracture face, parametric modeling of fixed screw and fixed position and input and transmission of model parameters. Finite element mechanical analysis module included grid division, element type setting, material property setting, contact setting, constraint and load setting, analysis method setting and batch processing operation. Post processing module included extraction and display of batch processing operation results, image generation of batch processing operation, optimal program operation and optimal result display. The system implemented the whole operations from input of fracture parameters to output of the optimal fixed plan according to specific patient real fracture parameter and optimal rules, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the system. Meanwhile, the system had a friendly interface, simple operation and could improve the system function quickly through modifying single module.

Automatic segmentation of cortical vessels in pre- and post-tumor resection laser range scan images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Siyi; Miga, Michael I.; Thompson, Reid C.; Garg, Ishita; Dawant, Benoit M.

2009-02-01

Measurement of intra-operative cortical brain movement is necessary to drive mechanical models developed to predict sub-cortical shift. At our institution, this is done with a tracked laser range scanner. This device acquires both 3D range data and 2D photographic images. 3D cortical brain movement can be estimated if 2D photographic images acquired over time can be registered. Previously, we have developed a method, which permits this registration using vessels visible in the images. But, vessel segmentation required the localization of starting and ending points for each vessel segment. Here, we propose a method, which automates the segmentation process further. This method involves several steps: (1) correction of lighting artifacts, (2) vessel enhancement, and (3) vessels' centerline extraction. Result obtained on 5 images obtained in the operating room suggests that our method is robust and is able to segment vessels reliably.

Thermal Transfer Compared To The Fourteen Other Imaging Technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Leary, John W.

1989-07-01

A quiet revolution in the world of imaging has been underway for the past few years. The older technologies of dot matrix, daisy wheel, thermal paper and pen plotters have been increasingly displaced by laser, ink jet and thermal transfer. The net result of this revolution is improved technologies that afford superior imaging, quiet operation, plain paper usage, instant operation, and solid state components. Thermal transfer is one of the processes that incorporates these benefits. Among the imaging application for thermal transfer are: 1. Bar code labeling and scanning. 2. New systems for airline ticketing, boarding passes, reservations, etc. 3. Color computer graphics and imaging. 4. Copying machines that copy in color. 5. Fast growing communications media such as facsimile. 6. Low cost word processors and computer printers. 7. New devices that print pictures from video cameras or television sets. 8. Cameras utilizing computer chips in place of film.

Development of an embedded instrument for autofocus and polarization alignment of polarization maintaining fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Di; Fang, Qimeng; Huang, Huaibo; Zhao, Zhengqi; Song, Ningfang

2017-12-01

The development and implementation of a practical instrument based on an embedded technique for autofocus and polarization alignment of polarization maintaining fiber is presented. For focusing efficiency and stability, an image-based focusing algorithm fully considering the image definition evaluation and the focusing search strategy was used to accomplish autofocus. For improving the alignment accuracy, various image-based algorithms of alignment detection were developed with high calculation speed and strong robustness. The instrument can be operated as a standalone device with real-time processing and convenience operations. The hardware construction, software interface, and image-based algorithms of main modules are described. Additionally, several image simulation experiments were also carried out to analyze the accuracy of the above alignment detection algorithms. Both the simulation results and experiment results indicate that the instrument can achieve the accuracy of polarization alignment <±0.1 deg.

HELICoiD project: a new use of hyperspectral imaging for brain cancer detection in real-time during neurosurgical operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabelo, Himar; Ortega, Samuel; Kabwama, Silvester; Callico, Gustavo M.; Bulters, Diederik; Szolna, Adam; Pineiro, Juan F.; Sarmiento, Roberto

2016-05-01

Hyperspectral images allow obtaining large amounts of information about the surface of the scene that is captured by the sensor. Using this information and a set of complex classification algorithms is possible to determine which material or substance is located in each pixel. The HELICoiD (HypErspectraL Imaging Cancer Detection) project is a European FET project that has the goal to develop a demonstrator capable to discriminate, with high precision, between normal and tumour tissues, operating in real-time, during neurosurgical operations. This demonstrator could help the neurosurgeons in the process of brain tumour resection, avoiding the excessive extraction of normal tissue and unintentionally leaving small remnants of tumour. Such precise delimitation of the tumour boundaries will improve the results of the surgery. The HELICoiD demonstrator is composed of two hyperspectral cameras obtained from Headwall. The first one in the spectral range from 400 to 1000 nm (visible and near infrared) and the second one in the spectral range from 900 to 1700 nm (near infrared). The demonstrator also includes an illumination system that covers the spectral range from 400 nm to 2200 nm. A data processing unit is in charge of managing all the parts of the demonstrator, and a high performance platform aims to accelerate the hyperspectral image classification process. Each one of these elements is installed in a customized structure specially designed for surgical environments. Preliminary results of the classification algorithms offer high accuracy (over 95%) in the discrimination between normal and tumour tissues.

PAT: From Western solid dosage forms to Chinese materia medica preparations using NIR-CI.

PubMed

Zhou, Luwei; Xu, Manfei; Wu, Zhisheng; Shi, Xinyuan; Qiao, Yanjiang

2016-01-01

Near-infrared chemical imaging (NIR-CI) is an emerging technology that combines traditional near-infrared spectroscopy with chemical imaging. Therefore, NIR-CI can extract spectral information from pharmaceutical products and simultaneously visualize the spatial distribution of chemical components. The rapid and non-destructive features of NIR-CI make it an attractive process analytical technology (PAT) for identifying and monitoring critical control parameters during the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. This review mainly focuses on the pharmaceutical applications of NIR-CI in each unit operation during the manufacturing processes, from the Western solid dosage forms to the Chinese materia medica preparations. Finally, future applications of chemical imaging in the pharmaceutical industry are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Software organization for a prolog-based prototyping system for machine vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Andrew C.; Hack, Ralf; Batchelor, Bruce G.

1996-11-01

We describe PIP (prolog image processing)--a prototype system for interactive image processing using Prolog, implemented on an Apple Macintosh computer. PIP is the latest in a series of products that the third author has been involved in the implementation of, under the collective title Prolog+. PIP differs from our previous systems in two particularly important respects. The first is that whereas we previously required dedicated image processing hardware, the present system implements image processing routines using software. The second difference is that our present system is hierarchical in structure, where the top level of the hierarchy emulates Prolog+, but there is a flexible infrastructure which supports more sophisticated image manipulation which we will be able to exploit in due course . We discuss the impact of the Apple Macintosh operating system upon the implementation of the image processing functions, and the interface between these functions and the Prolog system. We also explain how the existing set of Prolog+ commands has been implemented. PIP is now nearing maturity, and we will make a version of it generally available in the near future. However, although the represent version of PIP constitutes a complete image processing tool, there are a number of ways in which we are intending to enhance future versions, with a view to added flexibility and efficiency: we discuss these ideas briefly near the end of the present paper.

Multimission image processing and science data visualization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, William B.

1993-01-01

The Operational Science Analysis (OSA) Functional area supports science instrument data display, analysis, visualization and photo processing in support of flight operations of planetary spacecraft managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This paper describes the data products generated by the OSA functional area, and the current computer system used to generate these data products. The objectives on a system upgrade now in process are described. The design approach to development of the new system are reviewed, including use of the Unix operating system and X-Window display standards to provide platform independence, portability, and modularity within the new system, is reviewed. The new system should provide a modular and scaleable capability supporting a variety of future missions at JPL.

Standardizing Quality Assessment of Fused Remotely Sensed Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohl, C.; Moellmann, J.; Fries, K.

2017-09-01

The multitude of available operational remote sensing satellites led to the development of many image fusion techniques to provide high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution images. The comparison of different techniques is necessary to obtain an optimized image for the different applications of remote sensing. There are two approaches in assessing image quality: 1. Quantitatively by visual interpretation and 2. Quantitatively using image quality indices. However an objective comparison is difficult due to the fact that a visual assessment is always subject and a quantitative assessment is done by different criteria. Depending on the criteria and indices the result varies. Therefore it is necessary to standardize both processes (qualitative and quantitative assessment) in order to allow an objective image fusion quality evaluation. Various studies have been conducted at the University of Osnabrueck (UOS) to establish a standardized process to objectively compare fused image quality. First established image fusion quality assessment protocols, i.e. Quality with No Reference (QNR) and Khan's protocol, were compared on varies fusion experiments. Second the process of visual quality assessment was structured and standardized with the aim to provide an evaluation protocol. This manuscript reports on the results of the comparison and provides recommendations for future research.

Noise removal using factor analysis of dynamic structures: application to cardiac gated studies.

PubMed

Bruyant, P P; Sau, J; Mallet, J J

1999-10-01

Factor analysis of dynamic structures (FADS) facilitates the extraction of relevant data, usually with physiologic meaning, from a dynamic set of images. The result of this process is a set of factor images and curves plus some residual activity. The set of factor images and curves can be used to retrieve the original data with reduced noise using an inverse factor analysis process (iFADS). This improvement in image quality is expected because the inverse process does not use the residual activity, assumed to be made of noise. The goal of this work is to quantitate and assess the efficiency of this method on gated cardiac images. A computer simulation of a planar cardiac gated study was performed. The simulated images were added with noise and processed by the FADS-iFADS program. The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were compared between original and processed data. Planar gated cardiac studies from 10 patients were tested. The data processed by FADS-iFADS were subtracted to the original data. The result of the substraction was studied to evaluate its noisy nature. The SNR is about five times greater after the FADS-iFADS process. The difference between original and processed data is noise only, i.e., processed data equals original data minus some white noise. The FADS-iFADS process is successful in the removal of an important part of the noise and therefore is a tool to improve the image quality of cardiac images. This tool does not decrease the spatial resolution (compared with smoothing filters) and does not lose details (compared with frequential filters). Once the number of factors is chosen, this method is not operator dependent.

High-performance camera module for fast quality inspection in industrial printing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fürtler, Johannes; Bodenstorfer, Ernst; Mayer, Konrad J.; Brodersen, Jörg; Heiss, Dorothea; Penz, Harald; Eckel, Christian; Gravogl, Klaus; Nachtnebel, Herbert

2007-02-01

Today, printing products which must meet highest quality standards, e.g., banknotes, stamps, or vouchers, are automatically checked by optical inspection systems. Typically, the examination of fine details of the print or security features demands images taken from various perspectives, with different spectral sensitivity (visible, infrared, ultraviolet), and with high resolution. Consequently, the inspection system is equipped with several cameras and has to cope with an enormous data rate to be processed in real-time. Hence, it is desirable to move image processing tasks into the camera to reduce the amount of data which has to be transferred to the (central) image processing system. The idea is to transfer relevant information only, i.e., features of the image instead of the raw image data from the sensor. These features are then further processed. In this paper a color line-scan camera for line rates up to 100 kHz is presented. The camera is based on a commercial CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) area image sensor and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). It implements extraction of image features which are well suited to detect print flaws like blotches of ink, color smears, splashes, spots and scratches. The camera design and several image processing methods implemented on the FPGA are described, including flat field correction, compensation of geometric distortions, color transformation, as well as decimation and neighborhood operations.

Phoenix Telemetry Processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanboli, Alice

2013-01-01

Phxtelemproc is a C/C++ based telemetry processing program that processes SFDU telemetry packets from the Telemetry Data System (TDS). It generates Experiment Data Records (EDRs) for several instruments including surface stereo imager (SSI); robotic arm camera (RAC); robotic arm (RA); microscopy, electrochemistry, and conductivity analyzer (MECA); and the optical microscope (OM). It processes both uncompressed and compressed telemetry, and incorporates unique subroutines for the following compression algorithms: JPEG Arithmetic, JPEG Huffman, Rice, LUT3, RA, and SX4. This program was in the critical path for the daily command cycle of the Phoenix mission. The products generated by this program were part of the RA commanding process, as well as the SSI, RAC, OM, and MECA image and science analysis process. Its output products were used to advance science of the near polar regions of Mars, and were used to prove that water is found in abundance there. Phxtelemproc is part of the MIPL (Multi-mission Image Processing Laboratory) system. This software produced Level 1 products used to analyze images returned by in situ spacecraft. It ultimately assisted in operations, planning, commanding, science, and outreach.

Secure Display of Space-Exploration Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Cecilia; Thornhill, Gillian; McAuley, Michael

2006-01-01

Java EDR Display Interface (JEDI) is software for either local display or secure Internet distribution, to authorized clients, of image data acquired from cameras aboard spacecraft engaged in exploration of remote planets. ( EDR signifies experimental data record, which, in effect, signifies image data.) Processed at NASA s Multimission Image Processing Laboratory (MIPL), the data can be from either near-realtime processing streams or stored files. JEDI uses the Java Advanced Imaging application program interface, plus input/output packages that are parts of the Video Image Communication and Retrieval software of the MIPL, to display images. JEDI can be run as either a standalone application program or within a Web browser as a servlet with an applet front end. In either operating mode, JEDI communicates using the HTTP(s) protocol(s). In the Web-browser case, the user must provide a password to gain access. For each user and/or image data type, there is a configuration file, called a "personality file," containing parameters that control the layout of the displays and the information to be included in them. Once JEDI has accepted the user s password, it processes the requested EDR (provided that user is authorized to receive the specific EDR) to create a display according to the user s personality file.

SEM AutoAnalysis: enhancing photomask and NIL defect disposition and review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulz, Kristian; Egodage, Kokila; Tabbone, Gilles; Ehrlich, Christian; Garetto, Anthony

2017-06-01

For defect disposition and repair verification regarding printability, AIMS™ is the state of the art measurement tool in industry. With its unique capability of capturing aerial images of photomasks it is the one method that comes closest to emulating the printing behaviour of a scanner. However for nanoimprint lithography (NIL) templates aerial images cannot be applied to evaluate the success of a repair process. Hence, for NIL defect dispositioning scanning, electron microscopy (SEM) imaging is the method of choice. In addition, it has been a standard imaging method for further root cause analysis of defects and defect review on optical photomasks which enables 2D or even 3D mask profiling at high resolutions. In recent years a trend observed in mask shops has been the automation of processes that traditionally were driven by operators. This of course has brought many advantages one of which is freeing cost intensive labour from conducting repetitive and tedious work. Furthermore, it reduces variability in processes due to different operator skill and experience levels which at the end contributes to eliminating the human factor. Taking these factors into consideration, one of the software based solutions available under the FAVOR® brand to support customer needs is the aerial image evaluation software, AIMS™ AutoAnalysis (AAA). It provides fully automated analysis of AIMS™ images and runs in parallel to measurements. This is enabled by its direct connection and communication with the AIMS™tools. As one of many positive outcomes, generating automated result reports is facilitated, standardizing the mask manufacturing workflow. Today, AAA has been successfully introduced into production at multiple customers and is supporting the workflow as described above. These trends indeed have triggered the demand for similar automation with respect to SEM measurements leading to the development of SEM AutoAnalysis (SAA). It aims towards a fully automated SEM image evaluation process utilizing a completely different algorithm due to the different nature of SEM images and aerial images. Both AAA and SAA are the building blocks towards an image evaluation suite in the mask shop industry.

In-situ quality monitoring during laser brazing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ungers, Michael; Fecker, Daniel; Frank, Sascha; Donst, Dmitri; Märgner, Volker; Abels, Peter; Kaierle, Stefan

Laser brazing of zinc coated steel is a widely established manufacturing process in the automotive sector, where high quality requirements must be fulfilled. The strength, impermeablitiy and surface appearance of the joint are particularly important for judging its quality. The development of an on-line quality control system is highly desired by the industry. This paper presents recent works on the development of such a system, which consists of two cameras operating in different spectral ranges. For the evaluation of the system, seam imperfections are created artificially during experiments. Finally image processing algorithms for monitoring process parameters based the captured images are presented.

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Image Processing and Earth Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

The titles in this section include: 1) Expansion in Geographic Information Services for PIGWAD; 2) Modernization of the Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers; 3) Science-based Region-of-Interest Image Compression; 4) Topographic Analysis with a Stereo Matching Tool Kit; 5) Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (CAVSARP) Site, Tucson, Arizona: Floodwater and Soil Moisture Investigations with Extraterrestrial Applications; 6) ASE Floodwater Classifier Development for EO-1 HYPERION Imagery; 7) Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) Operations on EO-1 in 2004; 8) Autonomous Vegetation Cover Scene Classification of EO-1 Hyperion Hyperspectral Data; 9) Long-Term Continental Areal Reduction Produced by Tectonic Processes.

METEOSAT studies of clouds and radiation budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saunders, R. W.

1982-01-01

Radiation budget studies of the atmosphere/surface system from Meteosat, cloud parameter determination from space, and sea surface temperature measurements from TIROS N data are all described. This work was carried out on the interactive planetary image processing system (IPIPS), which allows interactive manipulationion of the image data in addition to the conventional computational tasks. The current hardware configuration of IPIPS is shown. The I(2)S is the principal interactive display allowing interaction via a trackball, four buttons under program control, or a touch tablet. Simple image processing operations such as contrast enhancing, pseudocoloring, histogram equalization, and multispectral combinations, can all be executed at the push of a button.

Segmentation of white rat sperm image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Weiguo; Liu, Jianguo; Chen, Guoyuan

2011-11-01

The segmentation of sperm image exerts a profound influence in the analysis of sperm morphology, which plays a significant role in the research of animals' infertility and reproduction. To overcome the microscope image's properties of low contrast and highly polluted noise, and to get better segmentation results of sperm image, this paper presents a multi-scale gradient operator combined with a multi-structuring element for the micro-spermatozoa image of white rat, as the multi-scale gradient operator can smooth the noise of an image, while the multi-structuring element can retain more shape details of the sperms. Then, we use the Otsu method to segment the modified gradient image whose gray scale processed is strong in sperms and weak in the background, converting it into a binary sperm image. As the obtained binary image owns impurities that are not similar with sperms in the shape, we choose a form factor to filter those objects whose form factor value is larger than the select critical value, and retain those objects whose not. And then, we can get the final binary image of the segmented sperms. The experiment shows this method's great advantage in the segmentation of the micro-spermatozoa image.

Detecting and monitoring UCG subsidence with InSAR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mellors, R J; Foxall, W; Yang, X

2012-03-23

The use of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to measure surface subsidence caused by Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is tested. InSAR is a remote sensing technique that uses Synthetic Aperture Radar images to make spatial images of surface deformation and may be deployed from satellite or an airplane. With current commercial satellite data, the technique works best in areas with little vegetation or farming activity. UCG subsidence is generally caused by roof collapse, which adversely affects UCG operations due to gas loss and is therefore important to monitor. Previous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of InSAR in measuring surface subsidencemore » related to coal mining and surface deformation caused by a coal mining roof collapse in Crandall Canyon, Utah is imaged as a proof-of-concept. InSAR data is collected and processed over three known UCG operations including two pilot plants (Majuba, South Africa and Wulanchabu, China) and an operational plant (Angren, Uzbekistan). A clear f eature showing approximately 7 cm of subsidence is observed in the UCG field in Angren. Subsidence is not observed in the other two areas, which produce from deeper coal seams and processed a smaller volume. The results show that in some cases, InSAR is a useful tool to image UCG related subsidence. Data from newer satellites and improved algorithms will improve effectiveness.« less

A New Method for Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) Imaging via Wavelet Decomposition-Dependented Edge Matching Interpolation.

PubMed

Li, Zeyu; Chen, Yimin; Zhao, Yan; Zhu, Lifeng; Lv, Shengqing; Lu, Jiahui

2016-08-01

The interpolation technique of computed tomography angiography (CTA) image provides the ability for 3D reconstruction, as well as reduces the detect cost and the amount of radiation. However, most of the image interpolation algorithms cannot take the automation and accuracy into account. This study provides a new edge matching interpolation algorithm based on wavelet decomposition of CTA. It includes mark, scale and calculation (MSC). Combining the real clinical image data, this study mainly introduces how to search for proportional factor and use the root mean square operator to find a mean value. Furthermore, we re- synthesize the high frequency and low frequency parts of the processed image by wavelet inverse operation, and get the final interpolation image. MSC can make up for the shortage of the conventional Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) examination. The radiation absorption and the time to check through the proposed synthesized image were significantly reduced. In clinical application, it can help doctor to find hidden lesions in time. Simultaneously, the patients get less economic burden as well as less radiation exposure absorbed.

Study on Low Illumination Simultaneous Polarization Image Registration Based on Improved SURF Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wanjun; Yang, Xu

2017-12-01

Registration of simultaneous polarization images is the premise of subsequent image fusion operations. However, in the process of shooting all-weather, the polarized camera exposure time need to be kept unchanged, sometimes polarization images under low illumination conditions due to too dark result in SURF algorithm can not extract feature points, thus unable to complete the registration, therefore this paper proposes an improved SURF algorithm. Firstly, the luminance operator is used to improve overall brightness of low illumination image, and then create integral image, using Hession matrix to extract the points of interest to get the main direction of characteristic points, calculate Haar wavelet response in X and Y directions to get the SURF descriptor information, then use the RANSAC function to make precise matching, the function can eliminate wrong matching points and improve accuracy rate. And finally resume the brightness of the polarized image after registration, the effect of the polarized image is not affected. Results show that the improved SURF algorithm can be applied well under low illumination conditions.

Method: automatic segmentation of mitochondria utilizing patch classification, contour pair classification, and automatically seeded level sets

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background While progress has been made to develop automatic segmentation techniques for mitochondria, there remains a need for more accurate and robust techniques to delineate mitochondria in serial blockface scanning electron microscopic data. Previously developed texture based methods are limited for solving this problem because texture alone is often not sufficient to identify mitochondria. This paper presents a new three-step method, the Cytoseg process, for automated segmentation of mitochondria contained in 3D electron microscopic volumes generated through serial block face scanning electron microscopic imaging. The method consists of three steps. The first is a random forest patch classification step operating directly on 2D image patches. The second step consists of contour-pair classification. At the final step, we introduce a method to automatically seed a level set operation with output from previous steps. Results We report accuracy of the Cytoseg process on three types of tissue and compare it to a previous method based on Radon-Like Features. At step 1, we show that the patch classifier identifies mitochondria texture but creates many false positive pixels. At step 2, our contour processing step produces contours and then filters them with a second classification step, helping to improve overall accuracy. We show that our final level set operation, which is automatically seeded with output from previous steps, helps to smooth the results. Overall, our results show that use of contour pair classification and level set operations improve segmentation accuracy beyond patch classification alone. We show that the Cytoseg process performs well compared to another modern technique based on Radon-Like Features. Conclusions We demonstrated that texture based methods for mitochondria segmentation can be enhanced with multiple steps that form an image processing pipeline. While we used a random-forest based patch classifier to recognize texture, it would be possible to replace this with other texture identifiers, and we plan to explore this in future work. PMID:22321695

47 CFR 14.21 - Performance Objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... operate and use the product, including but not limited to, text, static or dynamic images, icons, labels.... (2) Connection point for external audio processing devices. Products providing auditory output shall...

47 CFR 14.21 - Performance Objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... operate and use the product, including but not limited to, text, static or dynamic images, icons, labels.... (2) Connection point for external audio processing devices. Products providing auditory output shall...

Colorado Fires

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2014-05-15

...     View Larger Image The Hayman fire, situated about 65 kilometers southwest of Denver, ... these visualizations were generated as part of operational processing at the Atmospheric Science Data Center at NASA Langley Research ...

Digital Image Support in the ROADNet Real-time Monitoring Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindquist, K. G.; Hansen, T. S.; Newman, R. L.; Vernon, F. L.; Nayak, A.; Foley, S.; Fricke, T.; Orcutt, J.; Rajasekar, A.

2004-12-01

The ROADNet real-time monitoring infrastructure has allowed researchers to integrate geophysical monitoring data from a wide variety of signal domains. Antelope-based data transport, relational-database buffering and archiving, backup/replication/archiving through the Storage Resource Broker, and a variety of web-based distribution tools create a powerful monitoring platform. In this work we discuss our use of the ROADNet system for the collection and processing of digital image data. Remote cameras have been deployed at approximately 32 locations as of September 2004, including the SDSU Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, the Imperial Beach pier, and the Pinon Flats geophysical observatory. Fire monitoring imagery has been obtained through a connection to the HPWREN project. Near-real-time images obtained from the R/V Roger Revelle include records of seafloor operations by the JASON submersible, as part of a maintenance mission for the H2O underwater seismic observatory. We discuss acquisition mechanisms and the packet architecture for image transport via Antelope orbservers, including multi-packet support for arbitrarily large images. Relational database storage supports archiving of timestamped images, image-processing operations, grouping of related images and cameras, support for motion-detect triggers, thumbnail images, pre-computed video frames, support for time-lapse movie generation and storage of time-lapse movies. Available ROADNet monitoring tools include both orbserver-based display of incoming real-time images and web-accessible searching and distribution of images and movies driven by the relational database (http://mercali.ucsd.edu/rtapps/rtimbank.php). An extension to the Kepler Scientific Workflow System also allows real-time image display via the Ptolemy project. Custom time-lapse movies may be made from the ROADNet web pages.

Extended wavelet transformation to digital holographic reconstruction: application to the elliptical, astigmatic Gaussian beams.

PubMed

Remacha, Clément; Coëtmellec, Sébastien; Brunel, Marc; Lebrun, Denis

2013-02-01

Wavelet analysis provides an efficient tool in numerous signal processing problems and has been implemented in optical processing techniques, such as in-line holography. This paper proposes an improvement of this tool for the case of an elliptical, astigmatic Gaussian (AEG) beam. We show that this mathematical operator allows reconstructing an image of a spherical particle without compression of the reconstructed image, which increases the accuracy of the 3D location of particles and of their size measurement. To validate the performance of this operator we have studied the diffraction pattern produced by a particle illuminated by an AEG beam. This study used mutual intensity propagation, and the particle is defined as a chirped Gaussian sum. The proposed technique was applied and the experimental results are presented.

A phase space model of Fourier ptychographic microscopy

PubMed Central

Horstmeyer, Roarke; Yang, Changhuei

2014-01-01

A new computational imaging technique, termed Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM), uses a sequence of low-resolution images captured under varied illumination to iteratively converge upon a high-resolution complex sample estimate. Here, we propose a mathematical model of FPM that explicitly connects its operation to conventional ptychography, a common procedure applied to electron and X-ray diffractive imaging. Our mathematical framework demonstrates that under ideal illumination conditions, conventional ptychography and FPM both produce datasets that are mathematically linked by a linear transformation. We hope this finding encourages the future cross-pollination of ideas between two otherwise unconnected experimental imaging procedures. In addition, the coherence state of the illumination source used by each imaging platform is critical to successful operation, yet currently not well understood. We apply our mathematical framework to demonstrate that partial coherence uniquely alters both conventional ptychography’s and FPM’s captured data, but up to a certain threshold can still lead to accurate resolution-enhanced imaging through appropriate computational post-processing. We verify this theoretical finding through simulation and experiment. PMID:24514995

Multi-frame image processing with panning cameras and moving subjects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paolini, Aaron; Humphrey, John; Curt, Petersen; Kelmelis, Eric

2014-06-01

Imaging scenarios commonly involve erratic, unpredictable camera behavior or subjects that are prone to movement, complicating multi-frame image processing techniques. To address these issues, we developed three techniques that can be applied to multi-frame image processing algorithms in order to mitigate the adverse effects observed when cameras are panning or subjects within the scene are moving. We provide a detailed overview of the techniques and discuss the applicability of each to various movement types. In addition to this, we evaluated algorithm efficacy with demonstrated benefits using field test video, which has been processed using our commercially available surveillance product. Our results show that algorithm efficacy is significantly improved in common scenarios, expanding our software's operational scope. Our methods introduce little computational burden, enabling their use in real-time and low-power solutions, and are appropriate for long observation periods. Our test cases focus on imaging through turbulence, a common use case for multi-frame techniques. We present results of a field study designed to test the efficacy of these techniques under expanded use cases.

A survey of camera error sources in machine vision systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jatko, W. B.

In machine vision applications, such as an automated inspection line, television cameras are commonly used to record scene intensity in a computer memory or frame buffer. Scene data from the image sensor can then be analyzed with a wide variety of feature-detection techniques. Many algorithms found in textbooks on image processing make the implicit simplifying assumption of an ideal input image with clearly defined edges and uniform illumination. The ideal image model is helpful to aid the student in understanding the principles of operation, but when these algorithms are blindly applied to real-world images the results can be unsatisfactory. This paper examines some common measurement errors found in camera sensors and their underlying causes, and possible methods of error compensation. The role of the camera in a typical image-processing system is discussed, with emphasis on the origination of signal distortions. The effects of such things as lighting, optics, and sensor characteristics are considered.

Breadboard linear array scan imager using LSI solid-state technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tracy, R. A.; Brennan, J. A.; Frankel, D. G.; Noll, R. E.

1976-01-01

The performance of large scale integration photodiode arrays in a linear array scan (pushbroom) breadboard was evaluated for application to multispectral remote sensing of the earth's resources. The technical approach, implementation, and test results of the program are described. Several self scanned linear array visible photodetector focal plane arrays were fabricated and evaluated in an optical bench configuration. A 1728-detector array operating in four bands (0.5 - 1.1 micrometer) was evaluated for noise, spectral response, dynamic range, crosstalk, MTF, noise equivalent irradiance, linearity, and image quality. Other results include image artifact data, temporal characteristics, radiometric accuracy, calibration experience, chip alignment, and array fabrication experience. Special studies and experimentation were included in long array fabrication and real-time image processing for low-cost ground stations, including the use of computer image processing. High quality images were produced and all objectives of the program were attained.

Enhanced FIB-SEM systems for large-volume 3D imaging.

PubMed

Xu, C Shan; Hayworth, Kenneth J; Lu, Zhiyuan; Grob, Patricia; Hassan, Ahmed M; García-Cerdán, José G; Niyogi, Krishna K; Nogales, Eva; Weinberg, Richard J; Hess, Harald F

2017-05-13

Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) can automatically generate 3D images with superior z-axis resolution, yielding data that needs minimal image registration and related post-processing. Obstacles blocking wider adoption of FIB-SEM include slow imaging speed and lack of long-term system stability, which caps the maximum possible acquisition volume. Here, we present techniques that accelerate image acquisition while greatly improving FIB-SEM reliability, allowing the system to operate for months and generating continuously imaged volumes > 10 6 µm 3 . These volumes are large enough for connectomics, where the excellent z resolution can help in tracing of small neuronal processes and accelerate the tedious and time-consuming human proofreading effort. Even higher resolution can be achieved on smaller volumes. We present example data sets from mammalian neural tissue, Drosophila brain, and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to illustrate the power of this novel high-resolution technique to address questions in both connectomics and cell biology.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Soliman, A; Safigholi, H; Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, Toronto, ON

Purpose: To propose a new method that provides a positive contrast visualization of the prostate brachytherapy seeds using the phase information from MR images. Additionally, the feasibility of using the processed phase information to distinguish seeds from calcifications is explored. Methods: A gel phantom was constructed using 2% agar dissolved in 1 L of distilled water. Contrast agents were added to adjust the relaxation times. Four iodine-125 (Eckert & Ziegler SML86999) dummy seeds were placed at different orientations with respect to the main magnetic field (B0). Calcifications were obtained from a sheep femur cortical bone due to its close similaritymore » to human bone tissue composition. Five samples of calcifications were shaped into different dimensions with lengths ranging between 1.2 – 6.1 mm.MR imaging was performed on a 3T Philips Achieva using an 8-channel head coil. Eight images were acquired at eight echo-times using a multi-gradient echo sequence. Spatial resolution was 0.7 × 0.7 × 2 mm, TR/TE/dTE = 20.0/2.3/2.3 ms and BW = 541 Hz/pixel. Complex images were acquired and fed into a two-step processing pipeline: the first includes phase unwrapping and background phase removal using Laplacian operator (Wei et al. 2013). The second step applies a specific phase mask on the resulting tissue phase from the first step to provide the desired positive contrast of the seeds and to, potentially, differentiate them from the calcifications. Results: The phase-processing was performed in less than 30 seconds. The proposed method has successfully resulted in a positive contrast of the brachytherapy seeds. Additionally, the final processed phase image showed difference between the appearance of seeds and calcifications. However, the shape of the seeds was slightly distorted compared to the original dimensions. Conclusion: It is feasible to provide a positive contrast of the seeds from MR images using Laplacian operator-based phase processing.« less

An intergrated image matching algorithm and its application in the production of lunar map based on Chang'E-2 images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, F.; Ren, X.; Liu, J.; Li, C.

2012-12-01

An accurate topographic map is a requisite for nearly every phase of research on lunar surface, as well as an essential tool for spacecraft mission planning and operating. Automatic image matching is a key component in this process that could ensure both quality and efficiency in the production of digital topographic map for the whole lunar coverage. It also provides the basis for lunar photographic surveying block adjustment. Image matching is relatively easy when encountered with good image texture conditions. However, on lunar images with characteristics such as constantly changing lighting conditions, large rotation angle, few or homogeneous texture and low image contrasts, it becomes a difficult and challenging job. Thus, we require a robust algorithm that is capable of dealing with light effect and image deformation to fulfill this task. In order to obtain a comprehensive review of currently dominated feature point extraction operators and test whether they are suitable for lunar images, we applied several operators, such as Harris, Forstner, Moravec, SIFT, to images from Chang'E-2 spacecraft. We found that SITF (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) is a scale invariant interest point detector that can provide robustness against errors caused by image distortions from scale, orientation or illumination condition changes. Meanwhile, its capability in detecting blob-like interest points satisfies the image characteristics of Chang'E-2. However, the uneven distributed and low accurate matching results cannot meet the practical requirements in lunar photogrammetry. In contrast, some high-precision corner detectors, such as Harris, Forstner, Moravec, are limited in their sensitivities to geometric rotation. Therefore, this paper proposed a least square matching algorithm that combines the advantages of both local feature detector and corner detector. We experiment this novel method in several sites. The accuracy assessment shows that the overall matching error is within 0.3 pixel and the matching reliability can reach 98%, which proves its robustness. This method had been successfully applied to over 700 scenes of lunar images that cover the entire moon, in finding corresponding pixels in a pair of images from adjacent tracks and aiding the automatic lunar image mosaicing. The completion of the 7 meter resolution lunar map shows the promise of this least square matching algorithm in applications with a large quantity of images to be processed.

Personal Computer (PC) based image processing applied to fluid mechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cho, Y.-C.; Mclachlan, B. G.

1987-01-01

A PC based image processing system was employed to determine the instantaneous velocity field of a two-dimensional unsteady flow. The flow was visualized using a suspension of seeding particles in water, and a laser sheet for illumination. With a finite time exposure, the particle motion was captured on a photograph as a pattern of streaks. The streak pattern was digitized and processed using various imaging operations, including contrast manipulation, noise cleaning, filtering, statistical differencing, and thresholding. Information concerning the velocity was extracted from the enhanced image by measuring the length and orientation of the individual streaks. The fluid velocities deduced from the randomly distributed particle streaks were interpolated to obtain velocities at uniform grid points. For the interpolation a simple convolution technique with an adaptive Gaussian window was used. The results are compared with a numerical prediction by a Navier-Stokes computation.

Image processing for a tactile/vision substitution system using digital CNN.

PubMed

Lin, Chien-Nan; Yu, Sung-Nien; Hu, Jin-Cheng

2006-01-01

In view of the parallel processing and easy implementation properties of CNN, we propose to use digital CNN as the image processor of a tactile/vision substitution system (TVSS). The digital CNN processor is used to execute the wavelet down-sampling filtering and the half-toning operations, aiming to extract important features from the images. A template combination method is used to embed the two image processing functions into a single CNN processor. The digital CNN processor is implemented on an intellectual property (IP) and is implemented on a XILINX VIRTEX II 2000 FPGA board. Experiments are designated to test the capability of the CNN processor in the recognition of characters and human subjects in different environments. The experiments demonstrates impressive results, which proves the proposed digital CNN processor a powerful component in the design of efficient tactile/vision substitution systems for the visually impaired people.

Real-time biscuit tile image segmentation method based on edge detection.

PubMed

Matić, Tomislav; Aleksi, Ivan; Hocenski, Željko; Kraus, Dieter

2018-05-01

In this paper we propose a novel real-time Biscuit Tile Segmentation (BTS) method for images from ceramic tile production line. BTS method is based on signal change detection and contour tracing with a main goal of separating tile pixels from background in images captured on the production line. Usually, human operators are visually inspecting and classifying produced ceramic tiles. Computer vision and image processing techniques can automate visual inspection process if they fulfill real-time requirements. Important step in this process is a real-time tile pixels segmentation. BTS method is implemented for parallel execution on a GPU device to satisfy the real-time constraints of tile production line. BTS method outperforms 2D threshold-based methods, 1D edge detection methods and contour-based methods. Proposed BTS method is in use in the biscuit tile production line. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application-ready expedited MODIS data for operational land surface monitoring of vegetation condition

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, Jesslyn; Howard, Daniel M.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Friesz, Aaron M.; Ji, Lei; Gacke, Carolyn

2015-01-01

Monitoring systems benefit from high temporal frequency image data collected from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) system. Because of near-daily global coverage, MODIS data are beneficial to applications that require timely information about vegetation condition related to drought, flooding, or fire danger. Rapid satellite data streams in operational applications have clear benefits for monitoring vegetation, especially when information can be delivered as fast as changing surface conditions. An “expedited” processing system called “eMODIS” operated by the U.S. Geological Survey provides rapid MODIS surface reflectance data to operational applications in less than 24 h offering tailored, consistently-processed information products that complement standard MODIS products. We assessed eMODIS quality and consistency by comparing to standard MODIS data. Only land data with known high quality were analyzed in a central U.S. study area. When compared to standard MODIS (MOD/MYD09Q1), the eMODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) maintained a strong, significant relationship to standard MODIS NDVI, whether from morning (Terra) or afternoon (Aqua) orbits. The Aqua eMODIS data were more prone to noise than the Terra data, likely due to differences in the internal cloud mask used in MOD/MYD09Q1 or compositing rules. Post-processing temporal smoothing decreased noise in eMODIS data.

Real-time inspection by submarine images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tascini, Guido; Zingaretti, Primo; Conte, Giuseppe

1996-10-01

A real-time application of computer vision concerning tracking and inspection of a submarine pipeline is described. The objective is to develop automatic procedures for supporting human operators in the real-time analysis of images acquired by means of cameras mounted on underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROV) Implementation of such procedures gives rise to a human-machine system for underwater pipeline inspection that can automatically detect and signal the presence of the pipe, of its structural or accessory elements, and of dangerous or alien objects in its neighborhood. The possibility of modifying the image acquisition rate in the simulations performed on video- recorded images is used to prove that the system performs all necessary processing with an acceptable robustness working in real-time up to a speed of about 2.5 kn, widely greater than that the actual ROVs and the security features allow.

Operating scheme for the light-emitting diode array of a volumetric display that exhibits multiple full-color dynamic images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirayama, Ryuji; Shiraki, Atsushi; Nakayama, Hirotaka; Kakue, Takashi; Shimobaba, Tomoyoshi; Ito, Tomoyoshi

2017-07-01

We designed and developed a control circuit for a three-dimensional (3-D) light-emitting diode (LED) array to be used in volumetric displays exhibiting full-color dynamic 3-D images. The circuit was implemented on a field-programmable gate array; therefore, pulse-width modulation, which requires high-speed processing, could be operated in real time. We experimentally evaluated the developed system by measuring the luminance of an LED with varying input and confirmed that the system works appropriately. In addition, we demonstrated that the volumetric display exhibits different full-color dynamic two-dimensional images in two orthogonal directions. Each of the exhibited images could be obtained only from the prescribed viewpoint. Such directional characteristics of the system are beneficial for applications, including digital signage, security systems, art, and amusement.

Effective and basic business strategic tools to overcome the DRA impact in outpatient imaging centers.

PubMed

Cerdena, Ernesto A; Corigliano, Barbara A

2007-01-01

The implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 has had adverse impacts with freestanding imaging centers and independent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTF) throughout the nation, including patient's access to quality imaging as well as crippling an organization's bottom line. Basic but effective business strategic tools should be formulated and executed to overcome the negative impact of the DRA. This should include creative and innovative process improvement initiatives while reducing operational costs and optimizing staff, thus improving profitability. Radiology administrators should act as facilitators to articulate and instill the mission, core values, and vision of the organization to the staff. Equally important, leaders in the imaging industry need to manifest a strong commitment in bringing the center into a whole new paradigm shift towards excellence and effective business operations.

TESS Ground System Operations and Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glidden, Ana; Guerrero, Natalia; Fausnaugh, Michael; TESS Team

2018-01-01

We describe the ground system operations for processing data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), highlighting the role of the Science Operations Center (SOC). TESS is a spaced-based (nearly) all-sky mission, designed to find small planets around nearby bright stars using the transit method. We detail the flow of data from pixel measurements on the instrument to final products available at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). The ground system relies on a host of players to process the data, including the Payload Operations Center at MIT, the Science Processing Operation Center at NASA Ames, and the TESS Science Office, led by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and MIT. Together, these groups will deliver TESS Input Catalog, instrument calibration models, calibrated target pixels and full frame images, threshold crossing event reports, two-minute light curves, and the TESS Objects of Interest List.

Realization of a single image haze removal system based on DaVinci DM6467T processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhuang

2014-10-01

Video monitoring system (VMS) has been extensively applied in domains of target recognition, traffic management, remote sensing, auto navigation and national defence. However the VMS has a strong dependence on the weather, for instance, in foggy weather, the quality of images received by the VMS are distinct degraded and the effective range of VMS is also decreased. All in all, the VMS performs terribly in bad weather. Thus the research of fog degraded images enhancement has very high theoretical and practical application value. A design scheme of a fog degraded images enhancement system based on the TI DaVinci processor is presented in this paper. The main function of the referred system is to extract and digital cameras capture images and execute image enhancement processing to obtain a clear image. The processor used in this system is the dual core TI DaVinci DM6467T - ARM@500MHz+DSP@1GH. A MontaVista Linux operating system is running on the ARM subsystem which handles I/O and application processing. The DSP handles signal processing and the results are available to the ARM subsystem in shared memory.The system benefits from the DaVinci processor so that, with lower power cost and smaller volume, it provides the equivalent image processing capability of a X86 computer. The outcome shows that the system in this paper can process images at 25 frames per second on D1 resolution.

End-to-end performance analysis using engineering confidence models and a ground processor prototype

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruse, Klaus-Werner; Sauer, Maximilian; Jäger, Thomas; Herzog, Alexandra; Schmitt, Michael; Huchler, Markus; Wallace, Kotska; Eisinger, Michael; Heliere, Arnaud; Lefebvre, Alain; Maher, Mat; Chang, Mark; Phillips, Tracy; Knight, Steve; de Goeij, Bryan T. G.; van der Knaap, Frits; Van't Hof, Adriaan

2015-10-01

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are co-operating to develop the EarthCARE satellite mission with the fundamental objective of improving the understanding of the processes involving clouds, aerosols and radiation in the Earth's atmosphere. The EarthCARE Multispectral Imager (MSI) is relatively compact for a space borne imager. As a consequence, the immediate point-spread function (PSF) of the instrument will be mainly determined by the diffraction caused by the relatively small optical aperture. In order to still achieve a high contrast image, de-convolution processing is applied to remove the impact of diffraction on the PSF. A Lucy-Richardson algorithm has been chosen for this purpose. This paper will describe the system setup and the necessary data pre-processing and post-processing steps applied in order to compare the end-to-end image quality with the L1b performance required by the science community.

Fuzzy Logic Enhanced Digital PIV Processing Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wernet, Mark P.

1999-01-01

Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) is an instantaneous, planar velocity measurement technique that is ideally suited for studying transient flow phenomena in high speed turbomachinery. DPIV is being actively used at the NASA Glenn Research Center to study both stable and unstable operating conditions in a high speed centrifugal compressor. Commercial PIV systems are readily available which provide near real time feedback of the PIV image data quality. These commercial systems are well designed to facilitate the expedient acquisition of PIV image data. However, as with any general purpose system, these commercial PIV systems do not meet all of the data processing needs required for PIV image data reduction in our compressor research program. An in-house PIV PROCessing (PIVPROC) code has been developed for reducing PIV data. The PIVPROC software incorporates fuzzy logic data validation for maximum information recovery from PIV image data. PIVPROC enables combined cross-correlation/particle tracking wherein the highest possible spatial resolution velocity measurements are obtained.

Skeletonization of gray-scale images by gray weighted distance transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Kai; Cao, Siqi; Bhattacharya, Prabir

1997-07-01

In pattern recognition, thinning algorithms are often a useful tool to represent a digital pattern by means of a skeletonized image, consisting of a set of one-pixel-width lines that highlight the significant features interest in applying thinning directly to gray-scale images, motivated by the desire of processing images characterized by meaningful information distributed over different levels of gray intensity. In this paper, a new algorithm is presented which can skeletonize both black-white and gray pictures. This algorithm is based on the gray distance transformation and can be used to process any non-well uniformly distributed gray-scale picture and can preserve the topology of original picture. This process includes a preliminary phase of investigation in the 'hollows' in the gray-scale image; these hollows are considered not as topological constrains for the skeleton structure depending on their statistically significant depth. This algorithm can also be executed on a parallel machine as all the operations are executed in local. Some examples are discussed to illustrate the algorithm.

Unwarping confocal microscopy images of bee brains by nonrigid registration to a magnetic resonance microscopy image.

PubMed

Rohlfing, Torsten; Schaupp, Frank; Haddad, Daniel; Brandt, Robert; Haase, Axel; Menzel, Randolf; Maurer, Calvin R

2005-01-01

Confocal microscopy (CM) is a powerful image acquisition technique that is well established in many biological applications. It provides 3-D acquisition with high spatial resolution and can acquire several different channels of complementary image information. Due to the specimen extraction and preparation process, however, the shapes of imaged objects may differ considerably from their in vivo appearance. Magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) is an evolving variant of magnetic resonance imaging, which achieves microscopic resolutions using a high magnetic field and strong magnetic gradients. Compared to CM imaging, MRM allows for in situ imaging and is virtually free of geometrical distortions. We propose to combine the advantages of both methods by unwarping CM images using a MRM reference image. Our method incorporates a sequence of image processing operators applied to the MRM image, followed by a two-stage intensity-based registration to compute a nonrigid coordinate transformation between the CM images and the MRM image. We present results obtained using CM images from the brains of 20 honey bees and a MRM image of an in situ bee brain. Copyright 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

The whole mesh deformation model: a fast image segmentation method suitable for effective parallelization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenkiewicz, Przemyslaw; Pereira, Manuela; Freire, Mário M.; Fernandes, José

2013-12-01

In this article, we propose a novel image segmentation method called the whole mesh deformation (WMD) model, which aims at addressing the problems of modern medical imaging. Such problems have raised from the combination of several factors: (1) significant growth of medical image volumes sizes due to increasing capabilities of medical acquisition devices; (2) the will to increase the complexity of image processing algorithms in order to explore new functionality; (3) change in processor development and turn towards multi processing units instead of growing bus speeds and the number of operations per second of a single processing unit. Our solution is based on the concept of deformable models and is characterized by a very effective and precise segmentation capability. The proposed WMD model uses a volumetric mesh instead of a contour or a surface to represent the segmented shapes of interest, which allows exploiting more information in the image and obtaining results in shorter times, independently of image contents. The model also offers a good ability for topology changes and allows effective parallelization of workflow, which makes it a very good choice for large datasets. We present a precise model description, followed by experiments on artificial images and real medical data.

Suppression of fixed pattern noise for infrared image system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Changhan; Han, Jungsoo; Bae, Kyung-Hoon

2008-04-01

In this paper, we propose suppression of fixed pattern noise (FPN) and compensation of soft defect for improvement of object tracking in cooled staring infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) imaging system. FPN appears an observable image which applies to non-uniformity compensation (NUC) by temperature. Soft defect appears glittering black and white point by characteristics of non-uniformity for IR detector by time. This problem is very important because it happen serious problem for object tracking as well as degradation for image quality. Signal processing architecture in cooled staring IRFPA imaging system consists of three tables: low, normal, high temperature for reference gain and offset values. Proposed method operates two offset tables for each table. This is method which operates six term of temperature on the whole. Proposed method of soft defect compensation consists of three stages: (1) separates sub-image for an image, (2) decides a motion distribution of object between each sub-image, (3) analyzes for statistical characteristic from each stationary fixed pixel. Based on experimental results, the proposed method shows an improved image which suppresses FPN by change of temperature distribution from an observational image in real-time.

Adaptive Intuitionistic Fuzzy Enhancement of Brain Tumor MR Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, He; Deng, Wankai; Sun, Xianping; Ye, Chaohui; Zhou, Xin

2016-10-01

Image enhancement techniques are able to improve the contrast and visual quality of magnetic resonance (MR) images. However, conventional methods cannot make up some deficiencies encountered by respective brain tumor MR imaging modes. In this paper, we propose an adaptive intuitionistic fuzzy sets-based scheme, called as AIFE, which takes information provided from different MR acquisitions and tries to enhance the normal and abnormal structural regions of the brain while displaying the enhanced results as a single image. The AIFE scheme firstly separates an input image into several sub images, then divides each sub image into object and background areas. After that, different novel fuzzification, hyperbolization and defuzzification operations are implemented on each object/background area, and finally an enhanced result is achieved via nonlinear fusion operators. The fuzzy implementations can be processed in parallel. Real data experiments demonstrate that the AIFE scheme is not only effectively useful to have information from images acquired with different MR sequences fused in a single image, but also has better enhancement performance when compared to conventional baseline algorithms. This indicates that the proposed AIFE scheme has potential for improving the detection and diagnosis of brain tumors.