Abstract: A method and system for preventing counterfeiting of an item, include an interrogatable tag attached to the item. The item includes visible indicia for comparison with secret, non-duplicable information stored in the tag designating authenticity.

Abstract: A detachable keyboard for a telephone set is provided in the form of a keyboard card clipped to the headset, which is completely detached from the body when unclipped. Wireless communication between the handset body and keyboard is used when the card is unclipped, while contacts are activated in the clipped position so that the wireless handset then functions as in the case of a non detachable keyboard.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for halftoning utilizes a truly aperiodic mask with memory requirements much smaller than the mask itself. The mask is constructed of several smaller compatible masks and a selector which selects between the smaller masks. In this way the computation of a large aperiodic mask is replaced by the computation of several much smaller masks. Using this technique, watermarks may be embedded for encrypting information in such a way that the quality of the image is not compromised.

Abstract: A visible seal or label containing a serial number is placed in plain view on the product packaging. The visible label contains the serial number as well as a first public key encrypted version of the serial number. A second or hidden label inside of the package has thereon a second a second encrypted version of the serial number made using a second public key. The hidden label may be secured inside of the package out of sight or may be placed on the back of the visible label and therefore viewable through a transparent case when opened or visible when peeled off. The private keys are known only to the manufacturer. Using a corresponding public key provided by the manufacturer, the consumer, law enforcement agent, or customs inspector can verify that the encrypted version matches the serial number. An advantage to this method is that only the manufacturer can produce matching pairs.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for matching the print outputs of two printers having different characteristics. For the purpose of laser printing, or more generally for reproduction on any printing device with limited number of printing levels, a color or grayscale image has to be transformed into an array of printing decisions at each pixel of the output image. Sometimes this array is the only available representation of the original image. One may desire to print this array on a printer with different characteristics from the printer for which the array was originally prepared. The method and apparatus solve this problem by generating a printing decision matrix which takes into account the differences between the two printers.

Abstract: A computer system and method solve the problem of getting a useful three-dimensional representation of an object like the spine using a small amount of data. This is done by gathering three-dimensional data in the form of a set of 2D computer tomography (CT) slices of a patient's bones and a coaxial set of 2D CT scout images, which are digital two-dimensional X-ray images that can be produced by a CT scanner; extracting from each of these three-dimensional data sets a corresponding stack of 2D contours; and constructing a 3D geometric model of the object. The main features of spinal deformation are captured by integrating these two sets of three-dimensional data, and constructing from them a three-dimensional geometric model of the spine. Scouts are usually used to monitor CT scan acquisition. Here, they are also used as an essential source of data.

Abstract: A computer system and method solve the problem of getting a useful three-dimensional representation of an object like the spine using a small amount of data. This is done by gathering and combining three-dimensional data in the form of (a) a set of 2D computer tomography (CT) slices of a patient's bones with (b) a set of 2D CT scout images, which are digital two-dimensional X-ray images that can be produced by a CT scanner. The main features of spinal deformation are captured by integrating these two sets of three-dimensional data, and constructing from them a three-dimensional geometric model of the spinal. Scouts are usually used to monitor CT scan acquisition. Here, they are also used as an essential source of data.

Abstract: A computer system and method solve the problem of getting a useful three dimensional representation of an object like the spine using a small amount of data. This is done by gathering and combining three dimensional data in the form of computer tomography (CT) scans of a patient's bones with two dimensional data consisting of CT scout images (or scouts), which are digital two dimensional X-ray images that can be produced by a CT scanner. The main features of spinal deformation are captured by combining the two dimensional data from CT scouts and the three-dimensional information from the CT scans using simple modeling of vertebrae. Scouts are usually used to monitor CT scan acquisition. Here, they are also used as an essential source of data.

Abstract: A printing method and apparatus takes into account the errors in the amount of black due to dot shape and size at the pixel where these errors occur, propagates corrections of these errors in order to preserve the logics of error diffusion, and permits a trade-off between completeness of the correction and computational time. The method and apparatus corrects for the actual shape of the printer dots in most error diffusion methods usable in digital halftoning.

Abstract: A method and apparatus to calibrate a printer which do not depend on geometric assumptions on the printed dots. The method takes account of the fundamentally probabilistic nature of the process of printing any dot on some types of printers such as laser printers. It allows estimating the probability distribution of what gets printed at each pixel depending on the local configuration of dots to be printed in such a way that only a limited number of tests need to be done, while no artificial cutoff is introduced on the size of local configurations to be taken into account. The calibration method can be applied to many problems encountered in digital printing, and permits computing printer dependent calibration of a dithering method without need for further direct measurements.

Abstract: A technique combines most of the advantages of both blue noise and clustering in generating a clustered aperiodic mask and using it in a dither array algorithm for halftoning. The method of halftoning of grey scale images utilizes a pixel-by-pixel comparison of the image against a clustered aperiodic mask in which the clustered aperiodic mask is comprised of a partly random and partly deterministic single valued function which is designed to produce visually pleasing dot configurations when thresholded at any level of grey.