In-vivo imaging device providing data compression

• US 9,113,846 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2004
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Given Imaging Limited (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Given Imaging Limited (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Zinaty, Ofra, Horn, Eli, Bettesh, Ido
• Primary Examiner(s): DIEP, NHON THANH
• Application Number:
  US10/991,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20050159643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,932 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.01, 375/E7.266, 348/E5.026, 348/E7.088
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00016 using wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/042 characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7232 involving compression of the physiological signal, e.g. to extend the signal recording period
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A device, system and method may enable the obtaining of in vivo images from within body lumens or cavities, such as images of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where the data such as mosaic image data may be transmitted or otherwise sent to a receiving system in a compressed format.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting in-vivo data comprising:

obtaining mosaic image data in a first set of coordinates comprising a plurality of colors wherein each color defines a plane of the image data;

defining a location of neighboring pixels for each plane;

transforming, using a processor, each plane of the image data to an alternate plane in a second set of coordinates;

selecting a compression ratio to be used;

preprocessing each alternate plane by discarding a least significant bit of the transformed data, to increase a compression ratio;

if a high compression ratio is selected, further preprocessing the data by smoothing and decimating;

compressing each alternate plane of the image data subsequent to preprocessing;

storing the compressed image data in a buffer; and

transmitting the compressed image data.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first set of coordinates comprises:

[R, G1, G2, B].

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second set of coordinates comprises [Y, Cr, Cb, Gdiff].

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein defining the location of neighboring pixels is by defining pointers.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein compressing is by FELICS.

6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

determining a second pre-process to perform on a plane of the image data before compression.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein said second pre-process performed on the image data is selected from a group consisting of:

smoothing, decimating, and offsetting and truncating.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein the pre-process is determined for each image based on current size of data stalled in the buffer.

9. The method according to claim 6 wherein the pre-process is predetermined for each plane in the second set of coordinates.

10. The method according to claim 1 comprising subtracting a reference dark pixel from a corresponding pixel.

11. The method according to claim 1 wherein the transmitting is by constant bit rate.

12. The method according to claim 1 wherein said preprocessing comprises discarding one or more coordinates of the alternate plane of the image data.

13. The method according to claim 1 wherein said preprocessing comprises discarding two or more Least Significant Bits (LSBs) of the image data.

14. The method according to claim 1 comprising controlling the compression ratio based on a rate that the buffer is filling up.