Abstract: A method for acquiring fusion images of a periodically moving body organ and an apparatus adapted to implement such method is described. In a preferred embodiment of the method, X-rays are irradiated to the body organ and a multiplicity of mask images is acquired by X-ray detection at a high image acquisition rate of at least 60 frames per second. Then, contrast medium is injected into vessels of the body organ and subsequently at least one contrast image of the body organ with the contrast medium included in the vessels is acquired by X-ray detection. A matching image from the multiplicity of mask images is determined which has been acquired at substantially the same stage of the movement of the body organ as the contrast image. By calculating the difference between the matching mask image and the at least one contrast image a subtraction image of the body organ can be obtained and displayed.

Abstract: A system, apparatus and method are provided for measuring and removing the influence of pulsatility on contrast agent flow in a region of interest of a vascular system of a patient. Once the change of blood speed over the cardiac cycle is known (pulsatility), this influence is removed from acquired image sequence for outcome control such that “quasi-stationary”, regular flow acquisition is passed on to subsequent visualization and analysis processes. A contrast agent injector is also provided that simultaneously measures and uses ECG to inject a known contrast agent at a fixed point over the cardiac cycle or such that a known amount of contrast agent will arrive at a known time at a region of interest in the vasculature of a patient, thus controlling one of the main unwanted variables in an acquisition of blood flow sequences.

Abstract: A digital image signal is watermarked by locally changing geometric features of the image. The watermark consists of a pseudo-random, dense subset of image pixels, e.g., a pattern of lines (20). A number of significant image pixels (21,22,23), i.e., pixels which give the highest response to a predetermined processing operation, is determined and then moved (24) to the vicinity (&dgr;) of the line pattern. As a result of this “warping”, the majority of significant image pixels (21,22) is eventually located within the vicinity of the line pattern. At the receiver end, the most significant pixels of an input image are again determined. The image is a watermarked image if a statistically high percentage lies within the vicinity of the line pattern.

Abstract: A method and arrangement for embedding a watermark in an image are disclosed. The watermark consists of a pseudo-random, dense subset of image pixels, e.g. a pattern of lines (20). A number of salient image pixels (21-26), for example, local extremes, corners or edges, is identified and it is determined whether they lie on (i.e. within a vicinity &dgr; of) the line pattern (21-23) or not (24-26). In an unwatermarked image (FIG. 2A), the number of most salient pixels (21) lying on the watermark is substantially the same as the number of most salient pixels (25,26) not lying on the watermark. The image is watermarked (FIG. 2B) by modifying the saliency of the salient pixels in such a way that a significant majority (21,23) of the most salient pixels (21,23,25) is eventually located within the vicinity of the line pattern.

Abstract: Recently developed methods for copy protection rely on a watermark detector to judge whether multimedia content can be copied or not. In such copy protection schemes, a watermark detector examines the multimedia content and outputs a signal (D) indicating whether a watermark is present or not. Known watermark detectors determine a decision variable (y) indicating to which extent the watermark is present, for example, the amount of correlation between the input signal and a reference copy of the watermark to be detected. The watermark is detected if the decision variable exceeds a predetermined threshold (y2). Such a detector is vulnerable to an attack which is described in this patent application.

Abstract: A watermark detector is disclosed to judge whether multimedia content can be copied or not. The watermark detector examines the multimedia content and outputs a signal indicating whether a watermark is present or not. A decision variable indicating to which extent the watermark is present is determined, for example, the amount of correlation between the input signal and a reference copy of the watermark to be detected. The watermark is detected if the decision variable exceeds a predetermined threshold (y2). The detector also generates a random output signal for a predetermined range of decision values between the threshold (y2) and a further threshold (y1).

Abstract: A digital image signal is watermarked by locally changing geometric features of the image. The watermark consists of a pseudo-random, dense subset of image pixels, e.g., a pattern of lines (20). A number of significant image pixels (21,22,23), i.e., pixels which give the highest response to a predetermined processing operation, is determined and then moved (24) to the vicinity (&dgr;) of the line pattern. As a result of this “warping”, the majority of significant image pixels (21,22) is eventually located within the vicinity of the line pattern. At the receiver end, the most significant pixels of an input image are again determined. The image is a watermarked image if a statistically high percentage lies within the vicinity of the line pattern.

Abstract: A digital image signal is watermarked by locally changing geometric features of the image. The watermark consists of a pseudo-random, dense subset of image pixels, e.g., a pattern of lines (20). A number of significant image pixels (21,22,23), i.e., pixels which give the highest response to a predetermined processing operation, is determined and then moved (24) to the vicinity (&dgr;) of the line pattern. As a result of this “warping”, the majority of significant image pixels (21,22) is eventually located within the vicinity of the line pattern. At the receiver end, the most significant pixels of an input image are again determined. The image is a watermarked image if a statistically high percentage lies within the vicinity of the line pattern.