Abstract: In a telemedicine application there is live sharing of a video stream of medical images from a first site to a second site as well as a two-way conferencing capability. Live streaming of medical images in a live interactive session imposes many limitations on the video streaming process not found in conventional video conferencing. The network conditions are heterogeneous and low latency is required to support: 1) live streaming of medical images to a remote site and 2) supporting two-way conferencing in which a doctor or clinician at the remote site can provide real-time analysis or guidance on how to adjust a location of an imaging device. A suite of video enhancements is disclosed to improve the capability to sustain live video streaming of medical images in a telemedicine environment including a two-way conference between doctors or clinicians.

Abstract: In a telemedicine application there is live sharing of a video stream of medical images from a first site to a second site as well as a two-way conferencing capability. Live streaming of medical images in a live interactive session imposes many limitations on the video streaming process not found in conventional video conferencing. The network conditions are heterogeneous and low latency is required to support: 1) live streaming of medical images to a remote site and 2) supporting two-way conferencing in which a doctor or clinician at the remote site can provide real-time analysis or guidance on how to adjust a location of an imaging device. A suite of video enhancements is disclosed to improve the capability to sustain live video streaming of medical images in a telemedicine environment including a two-way conference between doctors or clinicians.

Abstract: A video stream of live medical images is generated at a local site having a medical image scanner. A live video stream is transmitted to at least one remote site via a network, which may include wired or wireless Internet connections. Network conditions are monitored during a network session and predictions are made on a predicted bit rate for transmission. The compression parameters for the live video stream are selected based on the predicted bit rate.

Abstract: A video stream of live medical images is generated at a local site having a medical image scanner. A live video stream is transmitted to at least one remote site via a network, which may include wired or wireless Internet connections. Network conditions are monitored during a network session and predictions are made on a predicted bit rate for transmission. The compression parameters for the live video stream are selected based on the predicted bit rate.

Abstract: A video stream of live medical images is generated at a local site having a medical image scanner. A live video stream is transmitted to at least one remote site via a network, which may include wired or wireless Internet connections. Network conditions are monitored during a network session and predictions are made on a predicted bit rate for transmission. The compression parameters for the live video stream are selected based on the predicted bit rate.

Abstract: A segment of a B picture is encoded using motion estimation based prediction according to a determination as to whether motion vectors corresponding to a number of already constructed reference pictures of the B picture are acceptable for use in a direct prediction mode without further refinement or whether refined motion vectors are needed. In response to a determination that refined motion vectors are needed, refined motion vectors are computed through a motion estimation process and are used to encode a temporal direct mode. The coded segment of the B picture does not include refined motion vectors in an encoded bit stream. Decoding the encoded bit stream involves identifying the mode selected for coding the segment of the B picture. Where the temporal direct mode using refined motion vectors was selected for encoding, local motion estimation refinement is used to generate local motion vectors, which are used to reconstruct the segment of the B picture.