Stereo image processing for radiography
First Claim
1. A method for stereo image processing of an object, the method comprising the step of:
- obtaining at least a pair of stereo images each having a plurality of pixels, said stereo images being a digital representation of a corresponding pair of stereo radiographs taken of the object, wherein the pair of stereo radiographs is obtained by an X-ray imaging device, the X-ray imaging device being moved between times when a first radiograph of the pair of stereo radiographs and a second radiograph pair of the stereo radiographs are obtained;
correcting illumination errors within the pair of stereo images;
removing distortions from the pair of stereo images;
combining pixels of the pair of stereo images into a composite image; and
adjusting a corresponding screen parallax for the composite image, wherein the step of correcting illumination errors comprises the substeps of;
selecting a first group of pixels from a first image of the pair of stereo images;
selecting a second group of pixels from a second image of the pair of stereo images, the second group of pixels being respectively associated with the first group of pixels;
determining an intensity level for each pixel in both groups of pixels;
determining a mean intensity level and a variance for each of the first and second groups of pixels;
equalizing the mean intensity level and the variance of the first group and the second group; and
adjusting the pixels to equalize the mean intensity level and the variance of the first group and the second group.
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Abstract
Pairs of stereo Xray radiographs are obtained from an X-ray imaging system and are digitized to form corresponding pairs of stereo images (602, 604). The pairs of stereo images (602, 604) are adjusted (410) to compensate for gray-scale illumination differences by grouping and processing pixel groups in each pair of images. Distortion in the nature of depth plane curvature and Keystone distortion due to the toed-in configuration of the X-ray imaging system are eliminated (412). A screen parallax for the pair of stereo images is adjusted (414) to minimize depth range so as to enable a maximum number of users to view the stereoscopic image, and particular features of interest.
101 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for stereo image processing of an object, the method comprising the step of:
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obtaining at least a pair of stereo images each having a plurality of pixels, said stereo images being a digital representation of a corresponding pair of stereo radiographs taken of the object, wherein the pair of stereo radiographs is obtained by an X-ray imaging device, the X-ray imaging device being moved between times when a first radiograph of the pair of stereo radiographs and a second radiograph pair of the stereo radiographs are obtained;
correcting illumination errors within the pair of stereo images;
removing distortions from the pair of stereo images;
combining pixels of the pair of stereo images into a composite image; and
adjusting a corresponding screen parallax for the composite image, wherein the step of correcting illumination errors comprises the substeps of;
selecting a first group of pixels from a first image of the pair of stereo images;
selecting a second group of pixels from a second image of the pair of stereo images, the second group of pixels being respectively associated with the first group of pixels;
determining an intensity level for each pixel in both groups of pixels;
determining a mean intensity level and a variance for each of the first and second groups of pixels;
equalizing the mean intensity level and the variance of the first group and the second group; and
adjusting the pixels to equalize the mean intensity level and the variance of the first group and the second group. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for stereo image processing of an object, the method comprising the step of:
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obtaining at least a pair of stereo images each having a plurality of pixels, said stereo images being a digital representation of a corresponding pair of stereo radiographs taken of the object;
correcting illumination errors within the pair of stereo images;
removing distortions from the pair of stereo images;
combining pixels of the pair of stereo images into a composite image; and
adjusting a corresponding screen parallax for the composite image, wherein the step of removing distortions comprises the substeps of;
removing depth plane curvature amongst the pair of stereo images by determining a representation of the pair of stereo images, the representation having a parallel geometry with respect to one or more X-ray sources used to form the radiographs, and determining pixel values for the representation based on the plurality of pixels in the pair of stereo images; and
removing keystone distortion amongst the pair of stereo images. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for stereo image processing of an object, the method comprising the step of:
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obtaining at least a pair of stereo images each having a plurality of pixels, said stereo images being a digital representation of a corresponding pair of stereo radiographs taken of the object;
correcting illumination errors within the pair of stereo images;
removing distortions from the pair of stereo images;
combining pixels of the pair of stereo images into a composite image; and
adjusting a corresponding screen parallax for the composite image, wherein the object comprises at least one item, and the step of removing distortions from the pair of stereo images includes sub steps for adjusting the radiographs, the substeps comprising;
locating at least one physical pointer disposed around the object;
capturing the pair of stereo radiographs using a radiograph imaging device, wherein the physical pointer is captured in the pair of radiographs;
determining a location of the physical pointer;
estimating geometry and horizontal and vertical distortions using the location of the physical pointer appearing in the pair of stereo images; and
adjusting at least one image of the pair of stereo images vertically and horizontally to correct for any estimated distortions. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A computer-implemented method for stereo image processing of at least one pair of stereo images of an object, wherein the pair of stereo images includes a plurality of pixels and is obtained from a pair of stereo radiographs taken of the object, the method comprising the steps of:
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correcting illumination errors within the pair of stereo images;
removing distortions from the pair of stereo images; and
adjusting a corresponding screen parallax for a composite image, the composite image being a combination of the pixels of the pair of stereo images, wherein the step of removing distortions from the pair of stereo images comprises the substeps of;
removing depth plane curvature amongst the first and second images by determining a representation of the pair of stereo images, the representation having a parallel geometry with respect to one or more X-ray sources used to form the radiographs and determining pixel values for the representation based on the plurality of pixels in the pair of stereo images; and
removing keystone distortion amongst the first and second images. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A system for stereo image processing of an object, said system comprising:
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obtaining means for obtaining at least one pair of stereo images, the stereo images being a digital representation of a corresponding pair of stereo radiographs taken of the object, the pair of stereo images including a first image and a second image both having a plurality of pixels;
communicatively coupled to the obtaining means, means for correcting illumination errors within the pair of stereo images;
coupled to the means for correcting illumination errors, means for removing distortions from the pair of stereo images; and
coupled to the means for removing distortions, means for adjusting a corresponding screen parallax for a composite image, the composite image being a combination of the pixels of the first and second Images, wherein the means for removing distortions from the pair of stereo images comprises; means for rotating the first and second images to eliminating depth plane curvature therewithin; and
coupled to the means for eliminating depth plane curvature, means for eliminating keystone distortion within the pair of stereo images. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product for stereo image processing of an object, the computer program product including instructions for directing a computer to execute operations comprising the steps of:
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correcting errors resulting from at least one differently illuminated pair of stereo images of the object, said stereo images including a plurality of pixels and corresponding to a pair of stereo radiographs of the object;
removing depth plane curvature from the pair of stereo images by determining a representation of the pair of stereo images, the representation having a parallel geometry with respect to one or more X-ray sources used to form the radiographs, and determining pixel values for the representation based on the plurality of pixels in the pair of stereo images;
removing keystone distortions from the pair of stereo images; and
adjusting a corresponding screen parallax for a composite image, the composite image being a combination of the pair of stereo images. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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Specification