System And Method For Concurrent Transfer And Processing And Real Time Viewing Of In-Vivo Images

• US 20080260223A1
• Filed: 09/10/2006
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Given Imaging Limited (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Given Imaging Limited (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Davidson, Tal
• Granted Patent: US 8,369,589 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/045 Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10068 Endoscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for a concurrent transferring of an image stream gathered by an in-vivo sensing device, including creating a plurality of segments from at least a portion of the image stream and concurrently transferring the created segments. Other embodiments of the present invention provide and system and method for a concurrent processing of an image stream gathered by an in-vivo sensing device, including creating a plurality of segments from at least a portion of the image stream and concurrently processing the created segments.

Claims

1-31. -31. (canceled)

32. A method for concurrent processing of an image stream gathered by an in-vivo sensing device, comprising:

creating a plurality of segments from at least a portion of the image stream; and

concurrently processing said created segments.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein said created segments comprise at least a plurality of images.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein said created segments are substantially uniform in size.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein creating a plurality of segments comprises partitioning at least a portion of the image stream according to anatomical structures being imaged.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein each of said created segments comprise images of a different anatomical region.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein said created segments are non-consecutive in the image stream.

38. The method of claim 32, further comprising determining which of said created segments to concurrently process.

39. The method of claim 32, further comprising determining which of said created segments are likely to include an image of bleeding or a pathology.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising prioritizing processing of segments that are likely to include an image of a pathology or of bleeding

41. The method of claim 32, further comprising concurrently transferring said created segments to a display.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising determining which of said created segments to concurrently transfer.

43. The method of claim 32, further comprising concurrently fetching recorded data from storage.

44. A system for expediting processing of a raw image stream gathered by an in-vivo sensing device comprising:

a processor for creating a plurality of segments from at least a portion of the raw image stream;

a processor for concurrently processing said created segments; and

a processor for producing a combined image stream from the processed segments.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein said processor comprises a plurality of processors and each of said created segments that is concurrently processed is processes by a different one of said plurality of processors.

46. The system of claim 44 wherein said created segments are non-consecutive in the image stream.

47. The system of claim 44, wherein said processor for processing comprises a processor for determining which of said created segments to concurrently process.

48. The system of claim 44, further comprising a processor for concurrently transferring said created segments.

49. The system of claim 44, wherein said processor for creating a plurality of segments is a component of a receiver, a workstation or an in-vivo sensing device.

50. The system of claim 44, further comprising a processor for prioritizing processing of segments that are likely to include an image of a pathology or of bleeding.

51. The system of claim 44, further comprising an external receiver, wherein the in vivo sensing device comprises a transmitter to wirelessly transmit the image stream to the external receiver.