SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTION OF A TEMPERATURE ON A SURFACE OF A BODY

• US 20110118608A1
• Filed: 09/07/2010
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bjoern Lindner, Juergen Philipps, René Beaujean
• Original Assignee: Bjoern Lindner, Juergen Philipps, René Beaujean
• Inventors: LINDNER, Bjoern, Beaujean, René, Philipps, Juergen
• Application Number:
  US12/876,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20110118608A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/474
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/015 By temperature mapping of body part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/445 Evaluating skin irritation or skin trauma, e.g. rash, eczema, wound, bed sore
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4842 Monitoring progression or stage of a disease
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2005/0077 Imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0022 for sensing the radiation of moving bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0025 Living bodies ear thermometers G01J5/0011; detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/02 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/025 Interfacing a pyrometer to an external device or network; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0265 Handheld, portable ear thermometers G01J5/049
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0275 Control or determination of height or distance or angle information for sensors or receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/08 Optical arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0846 having multiple detectors for performing different types of detection, e.g. using radiometry and reflectometry channels
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0896 using a light source, e.g. for illuminating a surface

Abstract

A system and method for detection of a temperature on a surface of a body is provided. The system includes a first IR camera system via which the temperature of a certain area of the surface is detectable in the form of a thermal image; a second camera system via which three-dimensional information is detectable regarding a position of a specific area of the body surface related to the first IR camera system; at least a first database in which at least for one body a corresponding model is stored by which at least one contour of the body is defined; and an analyzing unit connectable with the first database receiving the thermal image detected by the first IR camera system and the 3D information detected by the second camera system. Whereby the analyzing unit correlates the 3D information detected by the second camera system with a selectable model stored in the first database thereby generating a data record, which contains exclusively 3D information allocated to the model, the 3D information of the data record subsequently being transformed into a 2D space, and wherein the transformed 2D information of the generated data record is linkable to the thermal image so that exclusively such pixels of the thermal image are selected corresponding to the 2D information of the data record.

Claims

1. A system for detection of a temperature on a surface of a body, the system comprising

a first IR camera system via which the temperature of a certain area of the surface is detectable in the form of a thermal image;

a second camera system via which three-dimensional information is detectable regarding a position of a specific area of the body surface related to the first IR camera system;

at least a first database in which at least for one body a corresponding model is stored by which at least one contour of the body is defined; and

an analyzing unit connectable with the first database receiving the thermal image detected by the first IR camera system and the 3D information detected by the second camera system,

wherein the analyzing unit correlates the 3D information detected by the second camera system with a selectable model stored in the first database thereby generating a data record, which contains exclusively 3D information allocated to the model, the 3D information of the data record subsequently being transformed into a 2D space, and

wherein the transformed 2D information of the generated data record is linkable to the thermal image so that exclusively such pixels of the thermal image are selected corresponding to the 2D information of the data record.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second database in which defined temperature data are stored, and

a recognition module associated with the second database with the temperature data of the selected pixels of the thermal image being comparable to the defined temperature data stored in the second database so that deviations or correlations between the respective temperature data can be determined.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third VIS camera system via which a VIS image of the specific surface area is created,

with the transformed 2D information of the generated data record being linkable to the VIS image so that exclusively such pixels of the VIS image are selected corresponding to the 2D information of the data record.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the third VIS camera system is integrated into the second camera system so that via a camera unit of the second camera system a VIS image of the specific surface area is created.

5. The system according to claim 2, further comprising a third database in which the selected pixels of the thermal image, deviations between the respective temperature data of the selected pixels of the thermal image and the defined temperature data stored in the second database and/or the selected pixels of the VIS image can be stored.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second camera system are arranged in a common housing which is configured to be carried by an operator.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a distance measuring device via which a distance between the specific area of the body surface and the first, second, or third camera system is measured.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the distance measured between the specific area of the body surface and the first, second, or third camera system is indicated by an acoustic and/or optical signal.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the distance measuring device is integrated into the second camera system.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first IR camera system comprises at least one thermal image camera or a plurality of thermal image cameras.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second camera system comprises at least a TOF (time-of-flight) camera and for at least a stereo vision camera.

12. The system according to claim 11, comprising a device for illuminating the specific surface area with a light, a wavelength of which is adjusted to the camera of the second camera system

13. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a device for illuminating a specific surface area with colored or white light which that is detected by a third VIS camera system.

14. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a battery unit providing power supply for individual system components including camera equipment.

15. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an indicating unit which can show the selected pixels of the thermal image and/or the selected pixels of VIS image.

16. The system according to claim 2, wherein the recognition module provides an image processing algorithm via which a specific temperature pattern in the form of an object-of-interest is identified with a signal being representable by an output unit in the event that the object of interest falls below a predetermined distance to a border area of the contour of the transformed 2D data of the data record.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the signal in view of a new taking shows a recommended shifting direction for the specific surface area so that the identified object of interest exceeds a predetermined distance to a border area of the contour of the transformed 2D data of the data record.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the output unit is integrated into the indicating unit.

19. The system according to claim 1, wherein the creation of temperature recordings of human or animal bodies is possible for medicinal purposes.

20. A method for detection of a temperature on a surface of a body, the method comprising:

detecting the temperature of a specific surface area in the form of a thermal image by a first IR camera system;

detecting three-dimensional information by a second camera system regarding a position of the specific surface area related to the first IR camera system;

selecting a predetermined model, which defines at least a contour of the body and is stored in a first database, and subsequent correlating such model by an analyzing unit with the 3D information of the specific surface area detected by the second camera system, with a data record being generated in which exclusively 3D information is contained which is unequivocally allocable to the model;

transforming the 3D information of the data record into a 2D space; and

linking the transformed 2D information of the data record with the thermal image so that only such pixels of the thermal image are selected which correspond to the 2D information of the data record.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the steps of :

providing defined temperature data which are stored in a second database, and

comparing the temperature data of the selected pixels of the thermal image with the defined temperature data stored in the second database, so that deviations or correlations between the respective temperature data are determined.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

creating a VIS image of the specific surface area, and

linking the transformed 2D information of the data record generated by the analyzing unit with the VIS image so that exclusively such pixels of the VIS image are selected which correspond to the 3D information of the data record.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein a third database is provided in which the selected pixels of the thermal image, deviations between the respective temperature data of the selected pixels of the thermal image and the defined temperature data stored in the second database and/or the selected pixels of the VIS image are stored.

24. The method according to claim 20, wherein a distance between the second camera system and the specific surface area is measured by a distance measuring device with the distance detected being indicated by an acoustic and/or optical signal.

25. The method according to claim 20, wherein the specific surface area is illuminated with coloured light while the temperature of such area is detected by the first IR camera system.

26. The method according to claim 20, wherein the specific surface area is illuminated during detection of the 3D information by the second camera system with a light the wavelength of which is adjusted to the cameras of the second camera system.

27. The method according to claim 20, wherein a specific temperature pattern in the form of an object-of-interest (OOI) is identified in the specific area of the body surface by an image processing algorithm with a distance of the OOI to a border area of the contour of the transformed 2D data of the data record being compared with a predetermined value, and an alarm signal being generated, if such distance falls below the predetermined value.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the alarm signal in view of a new recording of the specific surface area shows a recommended shifting direction for the first IR camera system and/or the second camera system so that the distance of the OOI to the border area of the contour of the transformed 2D data of the data record exceeds a predetermined distance.

29. The method according to claim 20, wherein the method serves for creating temperature takings of human or animal bodies for medicinal purposes.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein, via which an analysis of wound areas of the skin surface of human or animal bodies is carried out.

31. The method according to claim 20, wherein an information regarding spatial orientation of the body is generated with such information being taken into account for correlating the model with the 3D information of the specific area of the body surface detected by the second camera system.