CORRECTION OF SPOT AREA IN MEASURING BRIGHTNESS OF SAMPLE IN BIOSENSING DEVICE

• US 20110007178A1
• Filed: 03/05/2009
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Kahlman, Josephus Arnoldus Henricus Maria
• Application Number:
  US12/919,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20110007178A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/1765 Method using an image detector and processing of image signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6456 Spatial resolved fluorescence measurements; Imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10056 Microscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30072 Microarray; Biochip, DNA array; Well plate
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/12 Edge-based segmentation

Abstract

A biosensing device for sensing brightness of a bio sample from frames of a video signal, has circuitry (40) arranged to receive the video signal and determine a brightness of a given area (110) of one or more of the frames in real time. A controller (50) adjusts boundaries of the given area, and uses the measures of brightness for different boundaries, to determine location of edges of the sample, then sets the boundaries according to the edges for subsequent measurements of brightness. By determining the brightness in real time, the given area can be adjusted in real time. By adjusting the given area based on real time assessments of brightness, various common errors or tolerances in sample shapes and locations can be compensated without the need for the software to carry out operations at pixel rates.

Claims

1. A biosensing device for sensing brightness of a sample from frames of a video signal of the sample, the biosensing device comprising:

circuitry (40) arranged to receive the video signal and determine a value of a parameter related to brightness of an area (110) of one or more of the frames in real time, and

a controller (50) coupled to the circuitry to adjust boundaries of the given area for the circuitry, and to use determined values of the parameter related to brightness for different boundaries to determine a location of one or more edges of the sample, the controller being arranged to set the boundaries according to the edges for subsequent measurements of brightness by the circuitry.

2. The device of claim 1, the controller being arranged to determine the location of the one or more edges by determining a change in a relationship of brightness to area as one or more of the boundaries are changed.

3. The device of claim 2, the controller being arranged to deduce other locations of other edges of the sample from the location of the edge, and to set the boundaries of the area (110) according to the locations.

4. The device of claim 1, the controller being arranged to set boundaries in the form of vertical and horizontal lines represented by row and column start and end points, and the circuitry being arranged to determine a value of the parameter related to brightness from intensity values of pixels within the those lines within the frame.

5. The device of claim 1, the controller being arranged to determine a shape of the sample by setting the area (110) to be smaller than the sample, moving the given area across the sample and deducing the shape from changes in measured values of the parameter related to brightness of the area (110) as the area (110) is moved.

6. The device of claim 1, the controller being arranged to deduce a corrected brightness value for the sample from a measured brightness indication for the area (110), by compensating for differences between a known shape of the area (110), and a shape assumed for the sample.

7. The device of claim 1, the circuitry having an integrator coupled to receive the video signal to determine a value of the parameter related to brightness.

8. The device of claim 7, the circuitry comprising a line counter and a pixel counter, and comparators to compare the outputs of these counters to the row and column start and end points, outputs of the comparators being coupled to the integrator to enable it to integrate only pixel values inside the boundaries.

9. The device of claim 1, being incorporated in a handheld reader for receiving cartridges having many of the samples.

10. An image processing device (80) for determining brightness of a sample, the device having circuitry (40) arranged to receive a video signal and determine a value of a parameter related to brightness of an area (110) of one or more frames of the video in real time, and a controller (50) coupled to the circuitry to adjust boundaries of the area (110) for the circuitry, and to use the values of the parameter related to brightness for different boundaries to determine a location of one or more edges of the sample, the controller being arranged to set the boundaries according to the edges for subsequent measurements of brightness by the circuitry, and the controller being arranged to deduce a corrected brightness value for the sample from the measured brightness by compensating for a difference between a known shape of the area (110), and a shape assumed for the sample.

11. A method of using a biosensing device for sensing brightness of a sample from frames of a video signal of the bio sample, the method having the steps of;

determining a value of a parameter related to brightness of an area (110) of one or more of the frames in real time, adjusting (310, 415,440) boundaries of the area (110), using measures of brightness for different boundaries to determine (330, 430, 460) a location of one or more edges of the sample, and setting (340, 470) the boundaries according to the edges for subsequent measurements of brightness by the circuitry.

12. The method of claim 11, the determining of location of the edges involving determining a change in a relationship of brightness to area as one or more of the boundaries are changed.

13. The method of claim 11, having the step of determining a shape of the sample by setting the area (110) to be smaller than the sample, moving (415, 440) the area (110) across the sample and deducing (470) the shape from changes in the measured brightness of the area (110) as the area (110) is moved.

14. The method of claim 11, the device being incorporated in a handheld reader, and the method having the preliminary step of inserting a cartridge having the bio sample into the reader.

15. A computer program on a machine readable medium for use in a biosensing device for sensing brightness of a sample from frames of a video signal of the sample, the program being arranged to receive measurements of a parameter related to brightness of an area (110) of one or more of the frames in real time, to adjust (310, 415,440) boundaries of the area (110), and to use measures of brightness for different boundaries to determine (330, 430, 460) location of one or more edges of the sample, and to set (340, 470) the boundaries according to the edges for subsequent measurements of brightness.

16. The computer program of claim 15, further arranged to determine a shape of the sample by setting the area (110) to be smaller than the sample, move (415, 440) the area (110) across the sample and deduce (470) the shape from changes in the measured brightness of the area (110) as the area (110) is moved.