Abstract: An edge detection apparatus includes a computing circuit and a determining circuit. The computing circuit includes a first multiplier block and a first adder unit. The first multiplier block includes n×m first multiplier units, wherein each first multiplier unit has a first multiplication factor. The n×m first multiplier units respectively perform multiplications on n×m pixels which are arranged as an n×m matrix to generate n×m first product values based on the corresponding first multiplication factors. The n×m pixels include a target pixel, where n is not equal to m. The first adder unit generates a first computation result according to the n×m first product values. The determining circuit determines if the target pixel is an edge pixel according to at least the first computation result.

Abstract: A system and method for contactless multi-fingerprint collection is disclosed. The contactless multi-fingerprint collection system includes an imaging volume, a user interface configured to provide feedback to the subject regarding a proximity of a hand to a desired imaging location within the imaging volume, and at least one image capture device to capture images of each of the plurality of fingerprints at each of at least two different depths from the fingerprints. The contactless multi-fingerprint collection system also includes a processor coupled to the at least one image capture device that is programmed to generate a composite image and a contour map of each of the plurality of fingerprints from the images captured at the at least two different depths and generate a two-dimensional rolled equivalent image of each of the plurality of fingerprints from the composite image and the contour map.

Abstract: An image denoising method according to the present invention includes the steps of: sequentially selecting a pixel in an image as a current pixel; dynamically determining a current search block and a strength parameter; transferring the comparison block of each pixel in the current search block to a frequency domain; determining a current frequency basis; obtaining a similarity between each neighborhood pixel and the current pixel in the current search block according to the current frequency basis; determining a weighting of each neighborhood pixel related to the current pixel according to the strength parameter, and a distance and the current pixel in the current search block; and weighted averaging each neighborhood pixel and the current pixel in the current search block according to the weighting so as to obtain a reconstruction value of the current pixel.

Abstract: Statistical data of a fluorescence population is obtained easily with high accuracy. To achieve this, an evaluation apparatus of fluorescence population of the present application includes an input unit inputting a fluorescence observation image (If) of a fluorescence population and a transillumination observation image (It) having a same field of view as the fluorescence observation image, a first detecting unit (Mt) detecting, as a first area, an area in which a cellular image exists on the transillumination observation image being input, a setting unit (If?) setting, as a reference area, an area corresponding to the first area on the fluorescence observation image being input, and an obtaining unit obtaining fluorescence intensity data of a fluorescence image from the reference area in the fluorescence observation image.

Abstract: Embedding a watermark includes organizing variation locations in a data stream, partitioning the data stream into small blocks, determining the variation of small blocks based on the variation, categorizing small blocks into big blocks, identifying those big blocks that have a threshold level of variation, and embedding into those identified big blocks a watermark value.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for image quality (IQ) defect detection via classification of halftone dots present on customer prints. In one embodiment, spatially-varying thresholds are applied on the sensed image in order to classify the halftone dots for IQ defect detection. The resolving power of the sensor is characterized and the sensor responses to patches printed with the print device are characterized. A de-blurring filter is designed which is appropriate for compensating the characterized resolving power of the sensor. Image enhancement is applied to the image using the de-blurring filter. Halftone dots present on the prints are classified by analyzing the enhanced image with the results of the sensor response characterization. Once classified, single separation halftone dot images can be more readily analyzed for defects. The present method allows sensor resolution as low as the size of the halftone dots of the printer under test.

Abstract: A method and system for detecting a guiding catheter in a 2D fluoroscopic image is disclosed. A plurality of guiding catheter centerline segment candidates are detected in the fluoroscopic image. A guiding catheter centerline connecting an input guiding catheter centerline ending point in the fluoroscopic image with an image margin of the fluoroscopic image is detected based on the plurality of guiding catheter centerline segment candidates.

Abstract: The invention relates to an X-ray imaging device, particularly a Spectral-CT scanner, that comprises an X-ray source for generating X-radiation with an energy spectrum which varies continuously during an observation period. In a preferred embodiment, the radiation is attenuated in an object according to an energy-dependent attenuation coefficient ?, the transmitted radiation is measured by sensor units of a detector, and the resulting measurement signal is sampled and A/D converted. This is preferably done by an oversampling A/D converter, for example a ??-ADC. The tube voltage that drives the X-ray source is sampled with high frequency. In an evaluation system, these sampled measurement values can be associated with corresponding effective energy spectra to determine the energy dependent attenuation coefficient ?.

Abstract: An image encoding device includes: a first encoding unit for calculating a generated code amount by encoding image data for each GOP (Group of Picture); a code amount control unit for setting quantization information for realizing a target generated code amount based on the generated code amount; a quantization information distinguishing unit for calculating a DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) coefficient, and distinguishing quantization information that minimizes the summation for each picture of remainders when performing division of the DCT coefficient, as quantization information used for performing the last encoding; a picture-type setting unit for setting a picture type to the image data for each GOP, and when this set picture type differs from the picture type of the distinguished quantization information, matching the picture types by controlling the settings of the subsequent picture types; and a second encoding unit for encoding the image data based on the set picture type.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a dividing unit configured to divide a target candidate image, which is assigned as a candidate of a target image, into blocks when a photo-mosaic image is generated by dividing the target image into the blocks and replacing each block with a raw image selected from multiple raw images; a block-class classification unit configured to place each block in the target candidate image into a class selected from multiple classes defined by a characteristic associated with color; a comparing unit configured to compare the number of blocks in the target candidate image in a class and the number of raw images in the same class; and a selecting unit configured to select a target candidate image among a multiple target candidate images to be assigned as the target image on the basis of comparison results of the target candidate images obtained by the comparing unit.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for detection of a moving object when signal-to-noise ratio is low. A field of view is presented as a regularly updated frame of data points. A state of the object is defined by an “azimuth-speed” pair (i.e., a hypothesis). On each update, a detection system performs two steps. At the first step, the brightness of data points of a new frame is replaced by the average brightness of points surrounding this point. At the second step, the brightness of data points of this frame is being accumulated separately for each hypothesis. On each update, one of hypotheses produces the accumulated frame with the brightest point. This hypothesis is considered the best; its frame is displayed on a screen. The object is detected when the best hypothesis stabilizes in a sequence of updates and the movement of the brightest point becomes consistent with this hypothesis.

Abstract: A method for image reconstruction of moving radionuclide distributions. Its particular embodiment is for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of awake animals, though its techniques are general enough to be applied to other moving radionuclide distributions as well. The invention eliminates motion and blurring artifacts for image reconstructions of moving source distributions. This opens new avenues in the area of small animal brain imaging with radiotracers, which can now be performed without the perturbing influences of anesthesia or physical restraint on the biological system.

Abstract: A pixel block is compressed by providing a respective color component prediction for each pixel in the block. A difference between color components of two neighboring pixels is calculated and compared to a threshold. If the difference is smaller than the threshold, the prediction is calculated based on a first linear combination of the color components of these two neighboring pixels. However, if the difference exceeds the threshold, a second or third linear combination of the color components of the neighboring pixels is employed in the prediction. A guiding bit associated with the selected linear combination may be used. A prediction error is calculated based on the color component of the pixel and the provided prediction. The compressed block comprises an encoded representation of the prediction error and any guiding bit.