Method and device for sensor level image distortion abatement
First Claim
1. A digital imaging system, comprising:
- an image sensor array having an output for image data;
an optical system mounted to direct electromagnetic energy onto said image sensor array; and
an image processor connected to said image sensor array, said image processor operable to monitor image signal accumulation during acquisition of an image by said image sensor array so as to determine a temporal change in signal accumulation, said image processor applying information obtained during acquisition of an image relating to said temporal change to process image data output by said image sensor array, said image processor providing processed image data including image data processed with information obtained during said monitoring of the image signal accumulation.
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Abstract
A method, apparatus and software product for image processing using meta-data obtained by sampling the pixels or pixel regions of the image sensor array during the acquisition of the image. A performance enhancement is achieved by applying (non-linear) signal processing methods to the individual pixels or pixel regions of the array during image formation. The in-situ signal processing method described leverage knowledge of the image formation process to improve the signal quality of the pixels in the array. The present method, apparatus and software product may be used for post acquisition processing of the image or for processing during or immediately following acquisition of the image. Embodiments of the method mitigate noise, blur, and low contrast distortions in digital imaging arrays. Hardware and software embodiments are also presented.
36 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A digital imaging system, comprising:
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an image sensor array having an output for image data;
an optical system mounted to direct electromagnetic energy onto said image sensor array; and
an image processor connected to said image sensor array, said image processor operable to monitor image signal accumulation during acquisition of an image by said image sensor array so as to determine a temporal change in signal accumulation, said image processor applying information obtained during acquisition of an image relating to said temporal change to process image data output by said image sensor array, said image processor providing processed image data including image data processed with information obtained during said monitoring of the image signal accumulation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for processing an image, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring the image by an array of image sensors over an image acquisition time;
reading image accumulation values of at least ones of said image sensors during said image acquisition time to obtain information regarding the image accumulation;
processing image data acquired in said acquiring step using information regarding the image accumulation obtained in said reading step; and
outputting processed image data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for obtaining an image, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an image by a digital imaging system;
sampling pixels or pixel regions of the digital imaging system during acquisition of the image;
determining a presence of a predetermined characteristic in image signal build up during acquisition of the image;
processing image signals of said image; and
outputting image data including said processed signals of said processing step. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A software product for image processing, comprising:
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software stored in a memory and being capable of running on a computer system, the software being programmed to perform the steps of;
reading image data;
reading image accumulation values of at least ones of said image sensors obtained during said image acquisition time to obtain information regarding the image accumulation;
processing image data acquired in said acquiring step using information regarding the image accumulation obtained in said reading image accumulation values step; and
outputting processed image data. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A digital image processing system, comprising:
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a graphical user interface on an interface computer;
a storage device on which is stored image data and metadata corresponding to said image data;
image processing software on a processing computer that processes the image data to output a processed image using the meta-data.
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27. A method for image acquisition, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an image using a digital imaging system;
sensing pixels during said step of acquiring the image;
comparing an intensity of the pixels to a predetermined threshold during said step of acquiring the image;
halting image formation at pixels that exceed said predetermined threshold while continuing image formation at pixels that have not reached said predetermined threshold;
completing said image acquisition; and
outputting data of said image. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. A method for image acquisition, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an image using a digital imaging system;
sensing pixels during said step of acquiring the image;
determining the pixels that are imaging a moving portion of the image during said step of acquiring the image;
modifying image formation at pixels that are determined to be imaging the moving portion while continuing image formation at pixels that have not been determined to be imaging the moving portion;
completing said image acquisition; and
outputting data of said image.
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31. A method for image acquisition, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an image using a digital imaging system;
sensing pixels during said step of acquiring the image;
determining the pixels that are imaging a moving portion of the image during said step of acquiring the image;
halting image formation at pixels that are determined to be imaging the moving portion while continuing image formation at pixels that have not been determined to be imaging the moving portion;
completing said image acquisition; and
outputting data of said image.
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Specification