US 6,310,982 B1Granted

Method and apparatus for reducing motion artifacts and noise in video image processing

AssigneeOEC Medical Systems, Inc.

InventorsJoseph Allred, Larry Anderton, Barry K. Hanover, Steven Curtis

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for reducing noise and motion artifacts in pixels of a processed or displayed video image by filtering pixel values of the video image based on a first frame having currently stored (filtered) pixel values and a second frame having recently captured but not yet filtered pixel values. The apparatus includes a spatial filter for computing a motion value of a pixel of interest by averaging difference values of selected pixels surrounding the pixel of interest. Also included is a filter function means for producing an output difference value of the pixel of interest based on the motion value and an adder for adding the output difference value to the first frame filtered pixel value of the pixel of interest. Thus, each pixel of the video image is filtered according to the amount of motion in the video image.

Claims18

Dependent claims

Apparatus for reducing noise and motion artifacts in pixels of a currently output, displayed or processed video image by filtering pixel values of the pixels in the video image based on a first frame of the video image having currently filtered pixel values and a second frame of the video image having recently captured unfiltered pixel values, the apparatus comprising:

a display for displaying filtered pixel values of the video image;
a memory for storing the filtered pixel values of the first frame of the video image, wherein the first frame is represented by digital data and each pixel of the first frame has a pixel value represented by a set of bits of the digital data;
a subtractor for producing difference values by (i) receiving the filtered pixel values of the first frame and the unfiltered pixel values of the second frame and (ii) computing a difference between the filtered pixel values of the first frame and the unfiltered pixel values of the second frame;
a spatial filter means for computing a motion value of a pixel of interest by averaging the difference values of selected pixels surrounding the pixel of interest;
a filter function means for producing an output difference value of the pixel of interest based on the motion value;
and
an adder for adding the output difference value to the first frame filtered pixel value of the pixel of interest.

4 more elements

A method for reducing noise and motion artifacts in pixels of a processed or displayed video image by filtering pixel values of the pixels of the video image based on a first frame having currently output and filtered pixel values and a second frame having recently captured but not yet filtered pixel values, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing digital data in a memory representing the filtered color or gray scale imaging of each pixel in the first frame, each pixel having a filtered pixel value being represented by a set of bits of the digital data;
(b) capturing digital data representing color or gray scale imaging of each pixel in the second frame, each pixel having an unfiltered pixel value being represented by a set of bits of the digital data;
(c) selecting, based on scanning techniques, a pixel of interest from among the pixels in the video image;
(d) computing difference values of both (i) the pixel of interest and (ii) pixels surrounding the pixel of interest, the difference values each being the difference between the filtered pixel value of a pixel in the first frame and the unfiltered pixel value of the same pixel in the second frame;
(e) averaging the difference values of the pixels surrounding the pixel of interest to obtain kernel change or a motion value;
and
(f) temporally filtering the unfiltered pixel value of the pixel of interest according to the motion value.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.