Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for determining respiration rate from a video of a subject. In one embodiment, a video is received comprising plurality of time-sequential image frames of a region of a subject's body. Features of pixels are extracted from that region from each image frame and vectors formed from these features. Each image frame has an associated feature vector. A N×M video matrix of the vectors of length N is constructed such that a total number of columns M in the video matrix correspond to a time duration over which the subject's respiration rate is to be determined. The video matrix is processed to obtain a matrix of eigenvectors where principal axes of variations due to motion associated with respiration are contained in a first few eigenvectors. One eigenvector is selected from the first few eigenvectors. A respiration rate is obtained from the selected eigenvector.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for estimating a respiration rate by analyzing distortions in reflections of structured illumination patterns captured in a video containing a view of a subject's thoracic region. In one embodiment, a video of a target region of a body of a subject of interest is received. Video image frames are processed to estimate 3D time-series data for the target region. As more fully disclosed herein, the subject's respiration rate is estimated from the 3D time-series data. Measurements can be acquired under a diverse set of lighting conditions. The teachings hereof provide a non-contact approach to patient respiratory function monitoring that is useful for intensive care units and for monitoring at homes, and which aid in the detection of sudden deterioration of physiological conditions due to changes in respiration rates. The teachings hereof provide an effective tool for non-contact respiratory function study and analysis.

Abstract: A method for detecting settle-down time in a space includes acquiring a sequence of frames capturing a select space from a first camera. The method includes determining an initial time for computing a duration it takes for an associated occupant to settle into a seat in the select space. The method includes determining one or more candidate frames from the sequence of frames where one or both of a sitting behavior and seat occupancy is observed at the seat. The method includes determining a final frame and a final time associated with the final frame from the one or more candidate frames. The method includes computing the settle-down time using the initial and the final times.

Abstract: A system and method for assessing patient movement for Parkinson's disease includes capturing a video of a subject performing a finger tapping sequence comprising a predetermined number of open and close periods. According to an exemplary embodiment, a system and method includes extracting a region of interest for each frame of the video and generating a projection of the region of interest for each frame of the video using perpendicular vector projections in a direction or plurality of directions.

Abstract: A method for detecting sitting behavior includes acquiring a sequence of frames capturing a scene-of-interest at an overhead view. The method includes detecting at least one empty seat within the scene-of-interest and associating the seat as being unoccupied and the frame as a reference frame. The method includes extracting reference features describing a region of the unoccupied seat in the reference frame and quantifying the reference features to form a reference feature vector. The method includes extracting features describing the region in a given frame and quantifying the features to form a current feature vector. The method includes measuring a change in a feature vector over time using the reference feature vector and the current feature vector. The method includes and determining a status of the seat in the given frame as being one of occupied and unoccupied based on the change in the feature vector.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method identifying a type of cardiac event from cardiac signals obtained from a subject. In one embodiment, at least two clusters are formed. Each cluster is associated with a different cardiac event based on features of interest identified from various cardiac signal segments. At least one of the clusters is associated with a cardiac event which is an arrhythmia and one of the clusters is associated with a non-arrhythmia. A new cardiac signal segment of a subject is received. The signal segment is analyzed to identify features of interest. A distance is calculated between each of the clusters and the identified features of interest obtained from having analyzed the subject's cardiac signal segment. A cardiac event is identified for the subject based on the type of cardiac event associated with the cluster which the subject's features of interest had a shortest distance to.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for assessing peripheral vascular disease from a thermal image captured using a thermal imaging system. In one embodiment the present method involves the following. First, a thermal image is received of a region of exposed skin of a peripheral body part of a subject being monitored for PVD. The thermal image was acquired by a thermal imaging system. Pixels in the thermal image each have a corresponding temperature value. The thermal image is analyzed to stratify the peripheral body part into a plurality of skin surface regions. A skin surface temperature for each respective skin surface region is identified based on pixels in the thermal image associated with those regions. The temperatures are then extracted such that a progression of temperatures can be ascertained. A method for forecasting the progression for future times is also disclosed.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for increasing the accuracy of physiological signals obtained from video of a subject being monitored for a desired physiological function. In one embodiment, image frames of a video are received. Successive batches of image frames are processed. For each batch, pixels associated with an exposed body region of the subject are isolated and processed to obtain a time-series signal. If movement occurred during capture of these image frames that is below a pre-defined threshold level then parameters of a predictive model are updated using this batch's time-series signal. Otherwise, the last updated predictive model is used to generate a predicted time-series signal for this batch. The time-series signal is fused with the predicted time-series signal to obtain a fused time-series signal. The time-series signal for each batch is processed to obtain a physiological signal for the subject corresponding to the physiological function.

Abstract: What is disclosed is system and method for contemporaneously reconstructing images of a scene illuminated with unstructured and structured illumination sources. In one embodiment, the system comprises capturing a first 2D image containing energy reflected from a scene being illuminated by a structured illumination source and a second 2D image containing energy reflected from the scene being illuminated by an unstructured illumination source. A controller effectuates a manipulation of the structured and unstructured illumination sources during capture of the video. A processor is configured to execute machine readable program instructions enabling the controller to manipulate the illumination sources, and for effectuating the contemporaneous reconstruction of a 2D intensity map of the scene using the second 2D image and of a 3D surface map of the scene using the first 2D image. The reconstruction is effectuated by manipulating the illumination sources.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for estimating tidal chest volume using 3D surface reconstruction based on an analysis of captured reflections of structured illumination patterns from the subject with a video camera. The imaging system hereof captures the reflection of the light patterns from a target area of the subject's thoracic region. The captured information produces a depth map and a volume is estimated from the resulting 3D map. The teachings hereof provide a non-contact approach to patient respiration monitoring that is particularly useful for infant care in a neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU), and can aid in the early detection of sudden deterioration of physiological condition due to detectable changes in respiratory function. The systems and methods disclosed herein provide an effective tool for tidal chest volume study and respiratory function analysis.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for detecting febrile seizure using a thermal video camera. In one embodiment, a video is received comprising time-sequential thermal images of a subject. The video is acquired of the subject in real-time using a thermal video system. Each thermal image comprises a plurality of pixels with an intensity value of each pixel corresponding to a temperature. The thermal images are processed to determine an occurrence of a febrile seizure. The processing involves identifying a region of interest in the thermal image and determining a temperature for the region of interest based on values of the pixels isolated in that region of interest. Thereafter, a rate of change of temperatures is obtained for the subject in real-time on a per-frame basis. If the rate of change is determined to have exceeded a pre-defined threshold level, then the subject is having a febrile seizure.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for determining a pixel classification threshold for vehicle occupancy determination. An IR image of a moving vehicle is captured using a multi-band IR imaging system. A driver's face is detected using a face recognition algorithm. Multi-spectral information extracted from pixels identified as human tissue of the driver's face is used to determine a pixel classification threshold. This threshold is then used to facilitate a classification of pixels of a remainder of the IR image. Once pixels in the remainder of the image have been classified, a determination can be made whether the vehicle contains additional human occupants other than the driver. An authority is alerted in the instance where the vehicle is found to be traveling in a HOV/HOT lane requiring two or more human occupants and a determination has been made that the vehicle contains an insufficient number of human occupants.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for increasing the accuracy of physiological signals obtained from video of a subject being monitored for a desired physiological function. In one embodiment, image frames of a video are received. Successive batches of image frames are processed. For each batch, pixels associated with an exposed body region of the subject are isolated and processed to obtain a time-series signal. If movement occurred during capture of these image frames that is below a pre-defined threshold level then parameters of a predictive model are updated using this batch's time-series signal. Otherwise, the last updated predictive model is used to generate a predicted time-series signal for this batch. The time-series signal is fused with the predicted time-series signal to obtain a fused time-series signal. The time-series signal for each batch is processed to obtain a physiological signal for the subject corresponding to the physiological function.

Abstract: A method, system, and apparatus for vehicle occupancy detection comprises collecting image data of a vehicle, creating a first value according to a plurality of characteristics of a driver position of the vehicle, and then creating at least one other value according to a plurality of characteristics of at least one other candidate occupant position in the vehicle. The characteristics of the driver position of the vehicle and candidate occupant position of the vehicle are compared in order to determine the vehicle occupancy.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for automatically removing undesirable periodic or random background noise from heart rate measurement signals obtained from a video camera, ambient illuminator and other unknown electromagnetic sources to improve the overall reliability of biomedical measurements. In one embodiment, a time varying video image acquired over at least one imaging channel of a subject of interest is received. The video images are then segmented into a first region comprising a localized area where plethysmographic signals of the subject can be registered and a second region comprising a localized area of the environment where the plethysmographic signals cannot be registered. Both of the regions are exposed to the same environmental factors. The segmented video signals are pre-processed and the processed signals are subtracted from each other to generate an environmentally compensated signal. The environmentally compensated signal is then communicated to a computer system.

Abstract: A method for reconstructing an image of a scene captured using a compressed sensing device. A mask is received which identifies at least one region of interest in an image of a scene. Measurements are then obtained of the scene using a compressed sensing device comprising, at least in part, a spatial light modulator configuring a plurality of spatial patterns according to a set of basis functions each having a different spatial resolution. A spatial resolution is adaptively modified according to the mask. Each pattern focuses incoming light of the scene onto a detector which samples sequential measurements of light. These measurements comprise a sequence of projection coefficients corresponding to the scene. Thereafter, an appearance of the scene is reconstructed utilizing a compressed sensing framework which reconstructs the image from the sequence of projection coefficients.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for selecting the optimal wavelength ban combination for a multi-band infrared camera system which is optimized for skin detection. An objective function is constructed specifically for this application from classified performance and the algorithm generates wavelengths by maximizing the objective function. A specific wavelength band combination is selected which maximizes the objective function. Also disclosed is a 3-band and 4-band camera system with filters each having a transmittance of one of a combination of wavelength bands optimized to detect skin in the infrared band. The camera systems disclosed herein find their intended uses in a wide array of vehicle occupancy detection systems and applications. Various embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: An embodiment generally relates to systems and methods for determining cell phone usage automatically by individuals operating vehicles. A processing module can process multi-spectral images or videos of individuals and detect different regions in the image such as face regions, hand regions, and cell phone regions. Further, the processing module can analyze the regions based on locations and numbers of skin pixels and cell phone pixels to determine if the individual is holding his or her cell phone near his or her face. Based on the analysis, it can be determined whether the individual is operating the cell phone. Further, the analysis can yield a confidence level associated with the cell phone usage.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for enabling hybrid video capture of a scene being illuminated with structured and unstructured illumination sources over a wavelength range of interest that significantly intersects with each other. In one embodiment, the present system comprises a video capture device for capturing video of a scene being actively illuminated by both a structured and unstructured illumination source; a controller for controlling a manipulation of at least one structured and at least one unstructured illumination sources during capture of the video by the video capture device; and a processor in communication with the controller, the processor executing machine readable program instructions effectuating the manipulation. Various embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: A system and method that includes training a classifier using uniquely defined landmark points along the windshield region based on an elastic deformation model. The deformation model uses mixtures of trees with a shared pool of parts and can be globally optimized with dynamic programming and still capture much relevant global elastic structure. Once a candidate area is identified in the scene, a learned threshold is applied to the classification score of the candidate area to determine if the candidate area is a windshield. The identified area is then cropped out for further downstream process.