Imaging method and apparatus for the non-destructie analysisof paintings and monuments
AssigneeFoundation of Research and Technology
InventorsKonstantinos Balas, Demetrios Pelecoudas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention refers to an imaging method and apparatus capable of performing non-destructive, in situ analysis of art-objects. The invention relays on the comparison of diffuse reflectance and/or fluorescence spectra (intensity vs. wavelength), of painting material models of known composition, with the intensities emitted and captured at the same wavelengths and for any spatial point of the art-object of unknown composition. This composition, performed for any spatial point of the area of interest, improves notably the diagnostic information and enables the analysis of heterogeneous art-objects.
Claims17
An Imaging method for non-destructive analysis of paintings and monuments, hereunder described with the term “object” comprising:
- a) exposing the object to a polychromatic light beam, which includes wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet through the mid-infrared part of the spectrum;
- b) generating a board band image of the object in response to the incident light beam, which image is consisted from photons with wavelengths laying within the spectral sensitivity limits of ultraviolet, visible, near- and mid-infrared detectors and imaging photon energy converters, used for object's image capturing;
- c) generating a plurality of narrow band images corresponding to the broad band image of the object and comprising the intensity of said broad band image captured in the narrow bands of shorter than the detector's sensitivity spectral range,
- where for any spatial location of the examined area, the light intensities expressed by the materials constituting the object in narrow spectral bands in response to the incident light beam, are compared with the light intensities expressed by object material models at the same narrow spectral bands and under the same illumination and imaging conditions, thus enabling the determination and mapping of compositional characteristics of the materials used to create the object.
An Imaging apparatus for non-destructive analysis of paintings and monuments, hereunder described with term “object” comprising:
- a) light source means for the illumination of the object;
- b) optical imaging means for collecting the light expressed by the object's area under analysis in response to the illumination and for forming the image of this area;
- c) detector means for recording the light intensity expressed by the object as a function of location;
- d) means for selecting the illumination and imaging center wavelength;
- e) means for image display and storage;
- f) control means for controlling the illumination and imaging wavelength and the image calibration and acquisition parameters;
- g) software means for controlling the imaging wavelength, the detector's operating characteristics, the calibration and the imaging data analysis and processing,
- where, a plurality of reflectance and/or fluorescence color and/or black and white images are captured at various spectral bands, which images provide compositional and structural information for assisting the determination of the conservation needs of the object and for the on-line and offline evaluation and control of the restoration tasks.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.