System and Method for Enhancing Registered Images Using Edge Overlays
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsKevin A. Peterson, John J. Coogan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The system relates to a method for enhancing an image by extracting edge points from a corresponding image and overlaying the edge points on the image to be enhanced. In one aspect of the method, the first image is of a lower resolution than the second image. The method also contemplates enhancing an image taken with a first modality with a second image taken with another modality.
Claims19
A method for enhancing the edges of an object depicted within an image, the method comprising:
- identifying a low resolution image depicting at least one object of interest and further identifying a high resolution image that corresponds to the low resolution image;
- registering the high and low resolution images using a registration algorithm, whereby points in the high resolution image are mapped to points in the low resolution image;
- detecting edge points within the high resolution image using an edge detection algorithm, the edge points corresponding to the edges of objects depicted within the high resolution image;
- categorizing the detected edge points into groups on the basis of the intensity of the edge points, and selecting a group of edge points;
- overlaying the selected group of edge points onto the objects of interest in the low resolution image, the overlay being carried out on the basis of the registration, whereby the edges of the objects of interest are enhanced.
A method for enhancing a first image using a corresponding second image, the method comprising:
- extracting a group of edge points from the corresponding second image;
- identifying a correspondence of pixels in the corresponding second image to pixels in the first image;
- and
- overlaying the group of edge points on top of the corresponding pixels in the first image.
A system for enhancing an area within a first image, the system comprising:
- a high resolution data store;
- a low-resolution data source;
- a memory;
- and
- a processing unit interconnected to the data store, data source, and memory and configured to process a first image from the data source by:
- extracting a group of edge points from a corresponding second image, the second image taken from the data store, and
- overlaying the group of edge points on top of corresponding locations within the first image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.