US 8,948,539 B2Granted

System and method for image improvement and enhancement

AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army

InventorsRonald E Meyers, Keith S Deacon

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Abstract

System and method for image improvement comprising providing a series of frames; summing pixel values to obtain frame intensity; computing average frame intensity; determining frame intensity deviation for each frame by subtracting average frame intensity from frame intensity; determining an array of average pixel values (AAPV) and subtracting AAPV from the pixel value arrays to determine positive or negative pixel deviation values; grouping frames in first or second groups depending positive or negative frame intensity deviation; selecting all pixel values having a positive or negative deviation value and creating subgroups of positive or negative pixel deviation value frames, multiplying the pixel deviation value frames in each subgroup by frame intensity deviation to create first product arrays, which are summed together and divided by total number of frames to obtain second product arrays for each subgroup; selecting one or more of second product arrays to generate an image.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A processor-implemented method for image improvement comprising the following steps not necessarily in sequential order:

providing a series of frames;
determining the value of each pixel at each location within each frame to form a pixel value array for each frame;
summing the pixel values in each frame to obtain the frame intensity for each frame;
computing the average frame intensity for the series of frames;
determining the frame intensity deviation for each frame by subtracting the average frame intensity for the series of frames from the frame intensity for each frame;
determining an array of average pixel values for the series of frames;
determining the deviations from the array of average pixel values for each pixel in each frame by subtracting the array of average pixel values from the pixel value arrays to determine positive or negative pixel deviation values;
grouping all frames in a first group that have a positive frame intensity deviation;
for all frames in the first group, selecting all pixel values in each frame having a positive deviation value and creating a first subgroup of positive pixel deviation value frames;
for all frames in the first group, selecting all pixel deviation values in each frame having a negative deviation value and creating a second subgroup of negative pixel deviation value frames;
grouping all frames in a second group that have a negative frame intensity deviation;
for all frames in the second group, selecting all pixel values in each frame having a positive deviation value and creating a third subgroup of positive pixel deviation value frames;
for all frames in the second group, selecting all pixel deviation values in each frame having a negative value and creating a fourth subgroup of negative pixel deviation value frames;
multiplying the pixel deviation value frames in each subgroup by the frame intensity deviation for the respective frame to create first product arrays;
summing the first product arrays together and dividing by the total number of frames to obtain a second product array for each sub group;
and
selecting one or more of the second product arrays to generate an enhanced image.

14 more elements

A system for image improvement comprising

at least one processor,
at least one memory operatively associated with the at least one processor adapted to store frames of data taken of a region of interest, each frame of data comprising an array of pixels, each pixel having a pixel value, each frame having a frame intensity correlating to the sum of the pixel values for each frame;
the at least one processor operating to
compute the average frame intensity for the series of frames;
determine the frame intensity deviation for each frame by subtracting the average frame intensity for the series of frames from the frame intensity for each frame;
determine an array of average pixel values for the series of frames;
determine the deviations from the array of average pixel values for each pixel in each frame by subtracting the array of average pixel values from the pixel value arrays to determine positive or negative pixel deviation values;
group all frames in a first group that have a positive frame intensity deviation,
for all frames in the first group, select all pixel values in each frame having a positive deviation value and create a first subgroup of positive pixel deviation value frames,
for all frames in the first group, select all pixel deviation values in each frame having a negative value and create a second subgroup of negative pixel deviation value frames;
group all frames in a second group that have a negative frame intensity deviation,
for all frames in the second group, select all pixel values in each frame having a positive deviation value and create a third subgroup of positive pixel deviation value frames,
for all frames in the second group, select all pixel deviation values in each frame having a negative value and create a fourth subgroup of negative pixel deviation value frames,
multiply the pixel deviation value frames in each subgroup by the frame intensity deviation for the respective frame to create first product arrays;
sum the first product arrays together and dividing by the total number of frames to obtain second product arrays for each sub group;
and
select one or more of the second product arrays to generate an enhanced image.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/022,148Filed 9 Sep 2013 · continuation in part
Priority: 28 Sep 2011
Published: US 2014/0029850 A130 Jan 2014
Granted: 3 Feb 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G06T 5/50
Image enhancement or restoration: using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
G06V 10/30
Image preprocessing: noise filtering
G06T 2207/20216
Image combination: image averaging
G06T 2207/20221
Image combination: image fusion; Image merging

Family

Application13/247,470Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 28 Sep 2011
Application13/838,249Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 15 Mar 2013
Application61/834,497Us provisional application · filed 13 Jun 2013
US 8,532,427 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 10 Sep 2013
US 2014/0029850 A1Pre-grant publication · published 30 Jan 2014
US 8,594,455 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2013/0077888 A1Published application
US 2013/0243334 A1Published application
US 8,948,539 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.