# US 12,223,681 B2 · Object oriented image normalization > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,223,681 B2 - Document ID: US12223681B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/162,994 - Filed: 2023-02-01 - Published: 2023-06-08 - Granted: 2025-02-11 - Earliest claimed: 2018-11-29 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: Aviad Zlotnick - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12223681B2 ## CPC - G06T 7/90: Determination of colour characteristics - G06F 3/147: using display panels - G06T 7/136: involving thresholding - G09G 5/02: characterised by the way in which colour is displayed {(details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607)} - G09G 5/028: {Circuits for converting colour display signals into monochrome display signals} - G06T 2207/10024: Color image - G09G 2340/0428: Gradation resolution change - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G09G: ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION (arrangements for transferring data between digital computers and displays G06F3/14; static indicating arrangements comprising an association of a number of separate sources or light control cells G09F9/00; static indicating arrangements comprising integral associations of a number of light sources H01J, H01K, H10H, H05B33/12; scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission, details thereof H04N1/00) ## Abstract A method and system for reducing the number of colors per pixel present in an image to increase the ability to detect objects or anomalies in the image. A final number of colors per pixel to reduce the image to is determined, wherein the final number of colors is a number of colors less than the number of colors per pixel in the original image. A corresponding threshold value for each of the final number of colors is identified, such that the corresponding threshold values optimize an arithmetic combination of separation score functions applied to the plurality of pixels and the threshold values. The image is reduced to the final number of colors per pixel, by creating an output image where a value of each output pixel is equal to the number of threshold values that are less than the value of the corresponding input pixel. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer readable storage medium having computer readable instructions, that when executed by at least one computer cause the at least one computer to perform a method for reducing a first number of colors per pixel in an image, comprising instructions to: receive the image, the image having a plurality of pixels, the plurality of pixels having a plurality of colors; determine a final number of colors per pixel to reduce the image to, wherein the final number of colors is a number of colors less than the plurality of colors; identify a corresponding threshold value for each of the final number of colors, such that the corresponding threshold values optimize an arithmetic combination of a separation score function applied to the plurality of pixels and the threshold values, the separation score function based on a number of transitions between pixels across a given threshold value, wherein a transition is when a pixel from one side of the given threshold value is a neighbor of a pixel from an other side of the given threshold value; and reduce the image from the first number of colors per pixel to the final number of colors per pixel, by creating an output image where a value of each output pixel is determined based on the threshold values and the value of a corresponding input pixel. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the separation score function is further based on a number of expected transitions between pixels across the given threshold had the plurality of pixels been randomly distributed in the image. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The computer readable storage medium of claim 2, wherein the arithmetic combination is a sum of the separation score function for each of the corresponding threshold values. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein a number of corresponding threshold values is the final number of colors minus one. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein prior to reducing the image to the final number of colors per pixel, reducing the image from the first number of colors per pixel to an intermediate number of colors per pixel. ### Claim 6 A system for reducing a number of colors per pixel in an image, comprising: a processor; and a memory device in communication with the processor, the memory device containing program instructions executable by the processor to perform a method for reducing a first number of colors per pixel in an image, the method comprising: receiving the image, the image having a plurality of pixels, the plurality of pixels having a plurality of colors; determining a final number of colors per pixel to reduce the image to, wherein the final number of colors is a number of colors less than the plurality of colors; identifying a corresponding threshold value for each of the final number of colors, such that the corresponding threshold values optimize an arithmetic combination of a separation score function applied to the plurality of pixels and the threshold values, the separation score function based on a number of transitions between pixels across a given threshold value, wherein a transition is when a pixel from one side of the given threshold value is a neighbor of a pixel from an other side of the given threshold value; and reducing the image from the first number of colors per pixel to the final number of colors per pixel, by creating an output image where a value of each output pixel is determined based on the threshold values and the value of a corresponding input pixel. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the separation score function is further based on a number of expected transitions between pixels across the given threshold had the plurality of pixels been randomly distributed in the image. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the arithmetic combination is a sum of the separation score function for each of the corresponding threshold values. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein a number of corresponding threshold values is the final number of colors minus one. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein prior to reducing the image to the final number of colors per pixels, reducing the image from the first number of colors per pixel to an intermediate number of colors per pixel. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the image is a black and white image. ### Claim 12 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the image is a medical image. ### Claim 13 A method for reducing a first number of colors per pixel in an image to a second number of colors, comprising: receiving the image, the image having a plurality of pixels, the plurality of pixels having a plurality of colors; determining a final number of colors per pixel to reduce the image to, wherein the final number of colors is a number of colors less than the plurality of colors; identifying a corresponding threshold value for each of the final number of colors, such that the corresponding threshold values optimize an arithmetic combination of a separation score function applied to the plurality of pixels and the threshold values, the separation score function based on a number of transitions between pixels across a given threshold value, wherein a transition is when a pixel from one side of the given threshold value is a neighbor of a pixel from an other side of the given threshold value; and reducing the image from the first number of colors per pixel to the final number of colors per pixel, by creating an output image where a value of each output pixel is determined based on the threshold values and the value of a corresponding input pixel. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13 further comprising: determining an intermediate number of colors per pixel to reduce the image to, wherein the intermediate number of colors is a number of colors between the first number of colors and the final number of colors; and modifying the image to have the intermediate number of colors per pixel, by changing the value of the plurality of pixels based on an intermediate threshold, where pixels having a value above the intermediate threshold are modified to a value associated with a first color, and pixels having a value less than the intermediate threshold are modified to a value associated with a second color, wherein modifying the image to have the intermediate number of colors per pixel is performed prior to modifying the image to have the final number of colors per pixel. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14 wherein modifying the image to have the final number of colors per pixel, modifies the image from an intermediate image having the intermediate number of colors per pixel. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein a number of corresponding threshold values is the final number of colors minus one.