Computer imaging pre-processing for automated medication dispensing analysis

A computer system comprising:

• an input configured to receive a first image of medication located in a receptacle captured by a camera;
• memory configured to store computer-executable instructions;
• and
• at least one processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions, wherein the instructions include:
• creating a second image in which each pixel of the second image is based on a corresponding pixel of the first image;
• dividing pixels of the second image into a first subset and a second subset such that pixels of the first subset include candidate pixels corresponding to the receptacle;
• scanning the second image along a first axis to count, for each point along the first axis, a number of pixels in the first subset along a line perpendicular to the first axis that intersects the first axis at the point;
• defining an ellipse, by:
• estimating a position of a first edge of the receptacle along the first axis based on the counts of the pixels at each point along the first axis;
• and
• estimating a position of a second edge of the receptacle along the first axis based on the counts of the pixels at each point along the first axis;
• defining an opening of the receptacle based on the ellipse, including the estimated positions of the first edge of the receptacle and the second edge of the receptacle;
• outputting a processed image that indicates areas that are outside of the defined opening;
• and
• identifying a likelihood of mis-dispensed medication based on the processed image.