Abstract: A plurality of structures of condenser microphones is fabricated in a single condenser microphone array chip. The condenser microphone array chip includes a substrate having a plurality of openings serving as air cavities, a first insulating layer formed in the outer periphery of the openings, a first electrode layer stretched over each of the openings, a second insulating layer formed above the first electrode layer in the outer periphery of the openings, a second electrode layer formed above the second insulating layer relative to the first electrode layer via an air gap therebetween. The structures are connected via a plurality of bridges and separated via a plurality of channels therebetween. The channels circumvent the bridges so that at least the second insulating layer is partially removed from the channels. The bridges are formed using the second electrode layer serving as wiring for electrically connecting the structures of condenser microphones.

Abstract: A loudspeaker driver that includes a suspended diaphragm and at least one voice coil disposed lateral to the suspended diaphragm, suspended in a magnetic field and coupled to the diaphragm.

Abstract: A hermetically sealed actuator design for absorbing and reducing the effect of sound or vibration energy from a vibrating surface. The device comprises a body (1) containing a magnetostrictive core (2-6) a reaction mass (7) for energizing the actuator by compression, and a bearing or lever system to control the movement of the reaction mass. The actuator has a foot (11) for receiving the vibration from the structure into the device and a sensor (13) for monitoring vibration levels. The device can also function as an audio transmitter whereby it vibrates the surface onto which it is mounted and can be used for audio trans-10 mission through the structure or noise and vibration reduction by driving the surface out of phase with the vibration received from the structure.

Abstract: An electrostatic loudspeaker comprises a multi-layer panel (1) incorporating an electrically insulating middle layer (2) sandwiched between first and second electrically conducting outer layers (3, 4). A signal generator is provided for applying an alternating electrical voltage across the outer layers (3, 4) to initiate vibration due to variation of the electrostatic forces acting between the layers, thereby serving as a loudspeaker. Furthermore at least one of the outer layers (3, 4) is permeable to air displaced by such vibration. Such a loudspeaker can serve as a low cost audio loudspeaker which can be made lightweight and flexible or large-area so as to render it suitable for a wide range of applications, for example to provide sound reproduction in a home environment without requiring any bulky enclosure, public-address systems, or in a notebook computer or mobile telephone.

Abstract: A hearing aid device has a shell that fits into the upper part of the concha of the outer ear of a hearing-impaired person, and connecting element that is held in the concha of the outer ear and terminates in an ear piece in the ear canal. The combination of the shell and the connecting element in the concha retain the hearing aid in the outer ear.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a hearing aid housing is provided. The hearing aid housing may include a first behind-the-ear hearing aid housing portion, a second behind-the-ear hearing aid housing portion, and a moisture protector at least partially arranged between the first behind-the-ear hearing aid housing portion and the second behind-the-ear hearing aid housing portion.

Abstract: A voice conference system has a first voice-conference device having a speaker directed toward a first conferee and a second speaker directed toward a second conferee in one talk session room, and a second voice-conference device having a speaker directed to a third conferee and a fourth speaker directed toward a fourth conferee in another talk session room. When the first conferee talks, voice collecting beam signals picked up by microphones of the one voice conference device in excess of a predetermined threshold value are selected. The one voice conference device acquires voice collecting direction information, and then transmits voice communication data containing the voice collecting beam signal and the acquired voice collecting direction information to the another voice conference device, which acquires the voice collecting direction information from the received voice communication data, and emits the voice of the first conferee from the first speaker.

Abstract: A combination helmet and speaker system has an audio media player and a pair of speakers removably mounted on a helmet using locking fastening materials. First and second locking fastening materials are adapted for removably mounting the audio media player on the helmet. The pair of speakers each have an electrical connector cord that extends to a plug that is adapted to operatively engage the output port of the audio media player. Two pairs of locking fastening materials are adapted for mounting the pair of speakers on the helmet. A method of mounting the audio media player and the speakers on the helmet is also disclosed.

Abstract: [Problem to be Solved] To provide a high-sensitive compact vibration pickup microphone, suitably used as a talking microphone in high ambient noise environments or as a speech recognition input microphone, with high microphone sensitivity, resistance to sliding noise, and insensitivity to external noise and vibration.

Abstract: An earphone 1, which adopts the drum air power system the invention, includes at least a drum 5 composed of a drum-shaped casing 2, a front head 3 located on the front part of the casing 2, a rear head 4 located on the rear part of the casing 2, an inner-drum space 5a defined by the casing 2, the front head 3, and the rear head 4. Earphone 1 also comprises a driver unit 6 installed inside the drum 5 and equipped with an external sound conducting part 6a and an internal sound conducting hole 6b. The front head 3 and the rear head 4 resonate in response to driving by the driver unit 6 so that the low pitch sounds B and C are output in addition to the full range sound formed from the external sound conducting part 6a. This structure lowers the minimum resonance frequency and increases the sound pressure.

Abstract: A sensory signal output apparatus is provided. The sensory signal output apparatus, includes: a magnetic circuit vibrating in response to an alternating signal flowing through a coil; and an elastic support means elastically supporting the magnetic circuit to surround the circumferential outer surface of the magnetic circuit from one side direction thereof, in which coupling recesses are formed at the circumferential outer surface of the magnetic circuit to be spaced apart from each other, and a coupling piece is provided at a periphery of the elastic support means to be coupled to the coupling recess, the coupling piece is attached to and inserted into the coupling recess. In the sensory signal output apparatus, an elastic support means is inserted into and coupled to a magnetic circuit without using a curling operation to provide easy coupling.

Abstract: An image-based content item is analyzed to determine information about a subject of the content item. The analysis may include performing image analysis on at least an image of the content item. An inference may be programmatically made about one or more of (i) a viewer or holder of the content item, or (ii) the subject of content item.

Abstract: An image processing method performs reduction processing on an input image to acquire a reduced image, extracts a feature point from a group of images including the input image and one or more of the reduced images, determines as a matched feature point the feature point extracted from a matching position in each of two or more images in the group of images, calculates a local feature quantity of the matched feature point determined by the determination unit, and registers the calculated local feature quantity as a local feature quantity of the input image.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for placing a time stamp in a remotely applied watermark is disclosed. The method permits a time stamp of high resolution to be added remotely while minimizing the number of bits necessary in the time stamp.

Abstract: A method for generating an electronic dental chart for a patient, executed at least in part by a host processor, obtains image data for each of a number of teeth of the patient and generates a template dental chart for the patient that represents the position of each imaged tooth with a symbol according to the obtained image data. The template dental chart for each imaged tooth symbol is populated to form the electronic dental chart by associating the obtained image data to the corresponding symbol in the template dental chart for the imaged tooth, analyzing the obtained image data to identify a condition of the imaged tooth, associating at least the identified condition with the symbol for the imaged tooth, and displaying the populated electronic dental chart, wherein the displayed electronic dental chart provides a visual indication of the identified condition.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system and method system for providing group interactivity. The system includes a module that determines a size of an audience in an image provided by an image acquisition device and a module that controls interaction in a small audience environment. In addition, the system includes a module that controls interaction in a large audience environment. The present invention can also be viewed as a method for providing group interactivity. The method operates by determining size of an audience in a image, interacting in a small audience environment and interacting in a large audience environment.

Abstract: Systems and devices for processing image or other data using non-linear methods to compensate for localized slopes are described. In one implementation, the slope of the sample values in an image or other dataset is estimated in one or more directions using a non-linear filter, such as a median filter. The values of at least some of the samples of interest are compensated using the estimated slope values to remove the effects of the slope. The compensated values may then be processed to determine if the target is present in the samples of interest, or for any other purpose.

Abstract: A subject tracking apparatus extracts a subject region which is similar to a reference image on the basis of a degree of correlation with the reference image for tracking a predetermined subject from images supplied in a time series manner. Further, the subject tracking apparatus detects the position of the predetermined subject in the subject region on the basis of the distribution of characteristic pixels representing the predetermined subject contained in the subject region, and corrects the subject region so as to reduce a shift in position of the predetermined subject in the subject region. Moreover, the corrected subject region is taken as the result of tracking the predetermined subject, and the reference image is updated with the corrected subject region as the reference image to be used for the next supplied image.

Abstract: Methods of analyzing a plurality of facial expressions are disclosed that include: identifying a subject person, utilizing the subject person to create an image of a known target, removing at least one distracter expression from the target image to form a revised target image, and reviewing the revised target image with at least one third party participant to form a final target image. Additional methods of analyzing a plurality of facial expressions include: identifying a subject person, utilizing the subject person to create an image of a known target, digitizing the target image, removing at least one distracter expression from the target image to transform the target image to a revised target image, and reviewing the revised target image with at least one third party participant to transform the revised target image to a final target image.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes the following elements. First and second images are photographed from different points of view. A block division unit divides the first image into blocks. A similarity calculation unit calculates similarities between blocks in the first image and image regions in the second image. A likelihood calculation unit calculates likelihoods of each candidate corresponding image region in the second image with respect to individual sets of adjacent blocks in the first image on the basis of a positional relationship of the candidate corresponding image region. A corresponding position determination unit determines evaluation values of each candidate corresponding image region in the second image with respect to the blocks in the first image using the calculated similarities and likelihoods, and determines an image region in the second image corresponding to each of the blocks in the first image by comparing the determined evaluation values.

Abstract: Described is a technology by which video, which may be relatively high-resolution video, is efficiently processed to determine whether the video contains a specified action. The video corresponds to a spatial-temporal volume. The volume is searched with a top-k search that finds a plurality of the most likely sub-volumes simultaneously in a single search round. The score volumes of larger spatial resolution videos may be down-sampled into lower-resolution score volumes prior to searching.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for generating elevation maps or images of a tissue layer/boundary with respect to a fitted reference surface, comprising the steps of finding and segmenting a desired tissue layer/boundary; fitting a smooth reference surface to the segmented tissue layer/boundary; calculating elevations of the same or other tissue layer/boundary relative to the fitted reference surface; and generating maps of elevation relative to the fitted surface. The elevation can be displayed in various ways including three-dimensional surface renderings, topographical contour maps, contour maps, en-face color maps, and en-face grayscale maps. The elevation can also be combined and simultaneously displayed with another tissue layer/boundary dependent set of image data to provide additional information for diagnostics.

Abstract: Detection of the salient points in an image enable the improvement of further steps such as coding or image indexing, watermarking, video quality estimation. The methods rely on the fact that a model is fully based on the human visual system (HVS) such as the computation of early visual features, and the methods compute a saliency map for video images taking into account motion and the velocity of the eye.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to an apparatus for motion segmentation in the field of motion detection, whereby an initial motion map is processed to a more accurate final motion map which identifies the non- and the movement of pixels between at least two successive images, said apparatus comprising a processing-segmentation device and a combination-logic device. In this apparatus the initial motion map is processed to three different feature maps, describing static edges, moving edges and moving flat areas between at least two successive images, respectively. The present invention is further directed to a corresponding method adapted for motion segmentation in the field of motion detection.

Abstract: The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically analyze Landsat satellite data of forests. The present invention can easily be used to monitor any type of forest disturbance such as from selective logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, natural hazards (fire, wind events, storms), etc. The present invention provides a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote sensing analysis of such disturbances.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation in which a locate technician, using one or more physical locate marks, identifies a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area. A digital image of a geographic area comprising the dig area is electronically received, and at least a portion of the received digital image is displayed on a display device. Location information regarding an identified location of the at least one physical locate mark is also electronically received and, based at least in part on the received location information, one or more digital representations of the identified location of the physical locate mark(s) is/are included in the displayed digital image so as to generate a marked-up digital image. Information relating to the marked-up digital image is electronically stored and/or electronically transmitted so as to generate the searchable electronic record of the locate operation.

Abstract: An image-capturing apparatus for capturing an image by using a solid-state image-capturing device may include a face detector configured to detect a face of a human being on the basis of an image signal in a period until an image signal obtained by image capturing is recorded on a recording medium; an expression evaluation section configured to evaluate the expression of the detected face and to compute an expression evaluation value indicating the degree to which the detected face is close to a specific expression in relation to expressions other than the specific expression; and a notification section configured to notify notification information corresponding to the computed expression evaluation value to an image-captured person.

Abstract: A method for automatically identifying persons in digital media assets associated with a database of individual user accounts, comprising: providing access to a database of individual user accounts, wherein the database includes connections between the individual user accounts; receiving a digital media asset associated with a first individual user account; analyzing the received digital media asset to detect an unidentified person; designating collections of digital media assets associated with the first individual user account and other connected individual user accounts; training person identifiers for the previously identified persons by analyzing digital media assets containing the previously identified persons; using a processor to identify the detected unidentified person using the trained person identifiers; and associating metadata providing an indication of the one or more identified persons with the received digital media asset.

Abstract: An information processing device includes an imaging unit configured to perform imaging of one of the object person and a registrant, a first feature amount calculation unit configured to calculate a feature amount of a face of the registrant, a second feature amount calculation unit configured to calculate time series of feature amount of a lip of the registrant, a registration unit configured to register the time series of feature amount of the lip in a database to be associated with the feature amount of the face of the registrant, an identification unit configured to identify the face of the object person, a recognition unit configured to recognize speech content of the object person, and an authentication unit configured to perform personal authentication of the object person based on an identification result of the face and a recognition result of the speech content of the object person.

Abstract: An image-capturing apparatus for capturing an image by using a solid-state image-capturing device may include a face detector configured to detect a face of a human being on the basis of an image signal in a period until an image signal obtained by image capturing is recorded on a recording medium; an expression evaluation section configured to evaluate the expression of the detected face and to compute an expression evaluation value indicating the degree to which the detected face is close to a specific expression in relation to expressions other than the specific expression; and a notification section configured to notify notification information corresponding to the computed expression evaluation value to an image-captured person.

Abstract: To determine a location at which a photograph was captured using a camera, a time at which the photograph was captured is determined using an image depicted in the photograph. User location data indicative of respective locations of a user at a plurality of instances of time during a time period is received. The time period includes the determined time and a location of the user at the time the photograph was captured corresponds to the location of the camera at the time the photograph was captured. The location at which the photograph was captured is determined using the determined time and the user location data.

Abstract: A biometric authentication device includes a fake body judgment unit that judges whether a subject is a fake body by verifying whether a biometric information value that is input from the subject is within a biometric information value range that has been registered in advance; and a biometric information value range updating unit that, when the fake body judgment unit has judged that the subject is a living body, updates the biometric information value range such that a difference between the biometric information value that is input from the subject and an end of the biometric information value range becomes larger.

Abstract: A method for analyzing a digital image containing the result of an agglutination assay to generate a quantitative result value representative of the degree of agglutination of the sample is provided. The method for analyzing the digital image includes: applying a filter to extract a component of the image or portion of a spectrum where a signal to noise ratio between agglutinated and background is maximized; extracting a set of features that characterize the agglutination pattern, obtaining a quantification function which maps measured features to the actual concentration of the sample and computing a quantitative result for each sample in the assay.

Abstract: A system for estimating a location of an occluded skeleton, a method for estimating a location of an occluded skeleton and a method for reconstructing an occluded skeleton are provided. The method for estimating a location of an occluded skeleton comprises the following steps: Firstly, a trace of a reference central point of a body is estimated according to a plurality of continuously moving images. Next, a human movement state is estimated according to the trace and a motion information of the continuously moving images free of skeleton occlusion. Then, a possible range of the occluded skeleton for maintaining human balance is calculated according to the human movement state. Afterwards, a current motion level of the occluded skeleton is predicted according to a historic motion information of the occluded skeleton. Lastly, the location of the occluded skeleton is estimated according to the current motion level and the possible range.

Abstract: In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a method may include mapping an ellipse with its center at the origin of an xy-coordinate plane to a circle with its center at the origin of the xy-coordinate plane. The method may also include transforming a three-dimensional subject image including a curved profile in the xy-coordinate plane to an intermediate image based at least on the mapping of the ellipse to a base circle. The method may further include transforming the intermediate image to a transformed image having a linear profile by distorting each of one or more points of interest of the intermediate image based at least on a dimension of the circle and a coordinate of such point.

Abstract: A method for automatically segmenting a volume-of-interest representative of a subject's breast from a three-dimensional magnetic resonance image is provided. The three-dimensional image may include a plurality of spatially contiguous two-dimensional images. The image is converted to a monogenic signal, which is analyzed to determine locations in the image that correspond to maximal phase congruency in the monogenic signal. The orientation of each of these locations is determined and used along with the locations to estimate a boundary surface of the volume-of-interest. The estimated surface may be used to segment the image directly, or to generate a surface model, such as a statistical shape model, that is used to segment the image. This provided method is robust to segmenting the subject's breast, even at the chest-wall boundary in images with lower contrast-to-noise ratio between breast tissue and tissues in and around the chest wall.

Abstract: A system and method for improved viewing and navigation of large digital images, such as whole slide images used in microscopy. The system and method displays the digital image along with movable navigation and field of view boxes that enable a viewer to pan the digital image in an accurate manner, and also performs automatic absolute reorientation of the digital image and automatic relative reorientation of subsequent digital images in relation to the first digital image.

Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a data acquisition unit, a correction unit, a sorting unit and an image reconstruction unit. The data acquisition unit acquires data for imaging and projection data. The correction unit performs motion correction of the data using respiratory motion data obtained based on the projection data. The sorting unit sorts the data after motion correction into a cardiac time phase order based on electrocardiographic information. The image reconstruction unit reconstructs three-dimensional image data based on the sorted data after motion correction.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for highlighting local characteristics in anatomical volume renderings of vessel structures and a computer system is disclosed for carrying out this method.

Abstract: A lesion area detection unit detects an abnormal peripheral structure (lesion area), a pulmonary blood vessel extraction unit extracts a branch structure (pulmonary blood vessel) from the three-dimensional medical image, an associated blood vessel identification unit identifies an associated branch structure functionally associated with the abnormal peripheral structure based on position information of each point in the extracted branch structure, and an associated lung parenchymal area identification unit identifies an associated peripheral area (lung parenchyma) functionally associated with the identified associated branch structure based on the position information of each point in the extracted branch structure.

Abstract: A method for diagnosis and evaluation of tooth decay comprises: locating in an x-ray image the contour of the dento-enamel junction (DEJ); measuring optical density along contours substantially parallel to and on either side of the DEJ contour; and calculating at least one numerical decay value from the measured optical densities. A method for diagnosis and evaluation of periodontal disease comprises: measuring in an x-ray image a bone depth (BD) relative to the position of the cemento-enamel junctions (CEJs) of adjacent teeth; measuring bone density along a contour between the adjacent teeth; and calculating a numerical crestal density (CD) value from the measured bone density. Calibration standards may be employed for facilitating calculation of the numerical values. A dental digital x-ray imaging calibration method for at least partly correcting for variations of the optical densities of images acquired from the dental digital x-ray imaging system.

Abstract: The present invention provides in one aspect a method for determining a production level of a polypeptide of interest by a cell or cell colony, comprising obtaining an image of one or more cells or cell colonies; and analyzing the image to detect a signal associated with the polypeptide of interest; wherein a signal level is determined for each cell or cell colony based on signal values from a predefined area surrounding the cell or cell colony, the signal level being indicative of the production level of the polypeptide of interest by the cell or cell colony.

Abstract: Systems and methods for non-linear histogram segmentation for particle analysis are provided. In one embodiment, a method for analyzing particles comprises creating an initial two-dimensional histogram based on two selected parameters of the particles, filtering the initial two-dimensional histogram to generate a filtered two-dimensional image, detecting a plurality of seed populations in the filtered two-dimensional image, generating one or more linear contour lines, each having a plurality of contour points, to separate the detected seed populations, and adjusting the contour points in at least one of the linear contour lines to separate the detected seed populations.

Abstract: This disclosure is directed to information management techniques that may be used during automated processing of biological growth media. In one embodiment, a method comprises reading one or more identification elements of a biological growth medium, identifying manufacturing information related to the biological growth medium based on the one or more identification elements of the biological growth medium, identifying sample information related to a sample being tested by the biological growth medium based on the one or more identification elements of the biological growth medium, generating one or more images of the biological growth medium, counting biological agents formed on the biological growth medium based on the one or more images, wherein counting the biological agents comprises generating a count value, and associating the manufacturing information, the sample information and the count value with the one or more identification elements of the biological growth medium.

Abstract: This disclosure is directed to imaging techniques and image analysis techniques for automated analysis of biological growth media. According to this disclosure, the spectral responses of biological growth media can be used to identify and count biological agents from images of biological growth media. The biological growth media may be illuminated with two or more different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, and images of the biological growth media can be captured under these different illuminations. The spectral reflectance values in one or more first images can be normalized based on the spectral reflectance values in one or more second images, wherein the first images are associated with a different wavelength of illumination than the second images. The normalization may allow for better identification of biological agents that manifest on the biological growth media.

Abstract: A method and system for automatically evaluating quality of a slide-mounted tissue sample includes receiving a digital image of a magnified portion of the slide-mounted tissue sample. At least one quantitative quality indicator is automatically determined for at least one of the samples, and the digital image of the magnified portion of the sample. Each of the quantitative quality indicators is automatically compared to a respective minimum acceptable quality threshold. The quantitative quality indicators and associated quality thresholds are selected for suitability with an automated quantitative immunoassay. Failure of one or more of the quantitative quality indicators to meet its respective minimum acceptable quality threshold suggests that the sample is unsuitable for subsequent automated pathological evaluation.

Abstract: An acceptor device for sheet objects such as banknotes, comprises a sensor to derive data corresponding to a spatial array of data samples from a face of a sheet object, said data being configured in a sampling frame that lies within a range of positional relationships to a reference frame. The acceptor device also comprises a processor operable to process the data to determine the relationship between the reference frame and the sampling frame for the sensed data, and being operable to transform pre-selected regions of the sensed data from the sampling frame so as to correspond to data in the reference frame, and to make a comparison of the transformed data with reference data corresponding to the pre-selected regions in the reference frame and to the sheet object depending on the outcome of the comparison.

Abstract: A method of using a document processing system includes receiving a target serial number via an input device communicatively connected to a document processing system and determining if the target serial number exactly matches one of a plurality of stored serial numbers residing in a memory. Each stored serial number is associated with a record. Each record includes customer account identification information that can be used to identify a customer account previously credited for a deposit of a currency bill having the stored serial number. In response to the target serial number not exactly matching any of the stored serial numbers, the method further includes displaying a wildcard search element on a display of the document processing system.

Abstract: A photomask blank having a film on a substrate is inspected by (A) measuring a surface topography of a photomask blank having a film to be inspected for stress, (B) removing the film from the photomask blank to provide a treated substrate, (C) measuring a surface topography of the treated substrate, and (D) comparing the surface topography of the photomask blank with the surface topography of the treated substrate, thereby evaluating a stress in the film.

Abstract: In an image correction method, an image of an object is captured, and a standard image of the object is obtain from a storage system of a computing device. A target area contains most image characteristics of the object is determined from the standard image of the object, and a standard pixel block having N×N pixels is extracted from the target area. The captured image is divided into M pixel blocks having N×N pixels. Each of the pixel blocks of the captured image are analyzed with the standard pixel block. A pixel value of each pixel of the captured image is corrected according the analysis, and the corrected image is output to a display device of a computing device for display.