Method, device and system for estimating human body part position

Abstract

To provide a method and an apparatus for estimating a body part position of a person.SOLUTION: A method comprises: detecting, by a processor, a plurality of body part positions of a person from an image in which the person is detected, the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person; and estimating, by the processor, a body part position of the person for which a specific body part position, such as a position of cervical incisure, is to be estimated based on the detected plurality of body part positions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally, but not exclusively, to methods and apparatus for estimating human body part positions. [Background technology]

[0002] Posture refers to the positioning of various body segments relative to one another. Good posture means that the body positioning is balanced to minimize stress on the body segments, while poor posture means that the body positioning is out of balance, which can cause abnormal stress on the various body segments, leading to abnormal anatomical adaptations, altered performance, and reduced efficiency.

[0003] Posture analysis is the evaluation of the function of the locomotor system (bones, muscles, ligaments) and its control by the nervous system. It covers not only the evaluation of bones and muscles, but also the alignment of the spine. Posture analysis allows the examination of the correct standing alignment of a person from the front, back and side views.

[0004] With posture analysis, experienced and skilled physiotherapists can assess the patient's posture more accurately and confidently, while junior physiotherapists may struggle to assess the patient's posture accurately and confidently.To date, there are several limitations in posture assessment such as manual assessment by identifying landmarks on images, placing reflective markers at specific body positions, and utilizing pressure mats under the patient's feet.

[0005] Additionally, body, facial and spinal landmarks (e.g., anatomical points) are important for assessing global postural deviations. In particular, spinal landmarks are provided manually by the clinician. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Disclosed herein are embodiments of methods and apparatus for estimating a body part position of a person that address one or more of the above problems.

[0007] Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the background of this disclosure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for estimating a body part position of a person, the method comprising: detecting, by a processor, a plurality of body part positions of a person from an image in which the person is detected, each of the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person; and estimating, by the processor, the body part position of the person based on the detected plurality of body part positions.

[0009] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for estimating a body part position of a person, the apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the apparatus, using the at least one processor, to at least perform the following: detect a plurality of body part positions of the person from an image in which the person is detected, each of the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person; and estimate the body part position of the person based on one or more of the detected plurality of body part positions.

[0010] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a system for estimating a body part position of a person comprising the apparatus of the second aspect and one or more image capture devices configured to capture one or more images of the person, the one or more images comprising an image of the person in a frontal view and / or an image of the person across a sagittal plane.

[0011] Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the specification and drawings, and the benefits and / or advantages may be obtained individually from the various embodiments and features of the specification and drawings, and it is not necessary for all of them to be provided in order to obtain one or more of the benefits and / or advantages.

[0012] The accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the different views, and together with the following detailed description, are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, and serve to illustrate various embodiments and explain, by way of non-limiting examples only, various principles and advantages according to the present embodiments.

[0013] Embodiments of the present invention will be better understood and become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following written description, by way of example only, together with the drawings in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for estimating a body part position of a person according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for estimating a human body part position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates a flowchart of a landmark detection system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] [Figure 4] 1 shows an exemplary diagram of landmark detection according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] [Diagram 5] 1 illustrates another exemplary diagram of landmark detection according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] [Figure 6]FIG. 1 shows a diagram for detection of the jugular notch (JN) from a frontal view according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 7] FIG. 1 shows a diagram for detection of the jugular notch (JN) from a lateral view according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] [Figure 8] 1 shows an exemplary front view for detection of the jugular notch (JN) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] [Figure 9] 1 shows an exemplary side view for detection of the jugular notch (JN) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates a front view for identification of centerline (CR) location based on detected jugular notch (JN) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Figure 11A] 1 illustrates a right side view for detection of centerline (CR) location, chest and mid-chest (e.g., T7) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11B] 1 illustrates a left side view for detection of the centerline (CR) location, chest and mid-chest (e.g., T7) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] [Figure 12] 1 shows a right side view for estimating the position of the cervical (C7), thoracic (T2, T7, T10), lumbar (L1 and L4) and sacral (S2) vertebrae of the spine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] [Figure 13] 1 shows a left lateral view for estimating the position of the cervical (C7), thoracic (T2, T7, T10), lumbar (L1 and L4) and sacral (S2) vertebrae of the spine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Figure 14]1 illustrates a front / front view with detected full body landmarks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 15A] FIG. 1 illustrates a left side view with detected full body landmarks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15B] 1 illustrates a right side view with detected full body landmarks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 16] 2 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary computing device suitable for use in performing the method of FIG. 1; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] A body part position relates to a position where a body part is located. The detection of the body part position may utilize images of a front view, a front view (e.g., an image of a person viewed from the front), and / or a side view (e.g., an image of a person across a sagittal plane such as a right and / or left side view) of a person's body. Based on the images, each body part position may be identified and indicated by a respective landmark (e.g., an anatomical point). Furthermore, based on the detected body part positions, a specific body part position may be estimated, such as a position of the jugular notch, a position of a person's midline, a position of a person's mid-thorax, or a position of a vertebra along a person's spinal cord. Based on the detection and estimation of the body part positions, a posture state of the person may be determined. A posture state of the person relates to how a body part of a person (e.g., shoulders, chin, hips, head, ears, eyebrows, ankles, and other similar body parts) deviates from a standard position (e.g., a reference position) of the body part. This may relate to a shift (e.g., a left or right shift), a tilt (e.g., an upward or downward tilt), or a rotation from a reference position. Any shift, tilt, or rotation can be detected based on a comparison of connecting lines and / or distances measured between the body part positions, and detection and calculation of angles derived from the line comparison. For example, a rotation of one or more body parts of a person about the person's upright central axis can be determined based on detection of the angle of a line connecting two body part positions with respect to a reference line. The reference line may be another line connecting two other body part positions of the person. Depending on the body part for which the posture state is to be determined, different landmarks, lines and / or angles can be utilized.

[0031] Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings in which like reference numbers and letters indicate like elements or equivalents.

[0032] Some portions of the description which follow are presented explicitly or implicitly in terms of algorithms and functional or symbolic representations of operations on data within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and functional or symbolic representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps involve physical manipulations of physical quantities, such as electrical, magnetic or optical signals, which can be stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated.

[0033] Unless otherwise indicated, and as will become apparent below, discussions throughout this specification using terms such as "detecting," "estimating," "comparing," "receiving," "calculating," "determining," "updating," "generating," "initializing," "outputting," "receiving," "retrieving," "identifying," "distributing," "authenticating," and the like, will be understood to refer to operations and processes of a computer system or similar electronic device or other information storage, transmission, or display device that manipulates and transforms data, represented as physical quantities within the computer system, into other data, also represented as physical quantities within the computer system.

[0034] Apparatus for performing the operations of these methods is also disclosed herein. Such apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or may include a computer or other device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other device. A variety of machines may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein. Alternatively, the construction of more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps may be appropriate. The structure of the computer will emerge from the following description.

[0035] Moreover, this specification also implicitly discloses a computer program in that it is clear to one skilled in the art that the individual steps of the methods described herein may be implemented by computer code. The computer program is not intended to be limited to a specific programming language and its implementation. It will be understood that a variety of programming languages ​​and their coding can be used to implement the teachings of the disclosure contained herein. Furthermore, the computer program is not intended to be limited to a specific control flow. There are many other variations of the computer program that can use different control flows without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

[0036] Furthermore, one or more steps of a computer program may be executed in parallel rather than sequentially. Such a computer program may be stored on any computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include storage devices such as magnetic or optical disks, memory chips, or other storage devices suitable for interfacing with a computer. The computer-readable medium may also include wired media, as exemplified in the Internet system, or wireless media, as exemplified in the GSM mobile telephone system. The computer program when loaded and executed on such a computer effectively produces an apparatus that implements the steps of the preferred method.

[0037] EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatus for estimating a body part position of a person.

[0038] There is still a lack of detection of anatomical landmarks, especially for detecting the location of body parts such as the jugular notch, midline, mid-thorax and spinal vertebrae of a person based on a body image of the person. The locations of these body parts are typically identified manually by clinicians, for example by palpating along the person's spinal cord or by identifying the location via an X-ray image. Therefore, a system for evaluating standing posture can include an anatomical landmark detection system and a posture analysis system that attempt to solve the above problems. An example of the system is shown in FIG. 2. The landmark detection system has the advantage that it can estimate the location of body parts such as the jugular notch, midline, mid-thorax and spinal vertebrae of a person based on a body image of the person.

[0039] 1 shows a flowchart 100 illustrating a method for estimating a body part position of a person according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In step 102, a processor detects a plurality of body part positions of the person from an image in which the person is detected, each of the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person. In step 104, the processor estimates a body part position of the person based on the detected plurality of body part positions.

[0040] In an embodiment, estimating a body part position may include estimating the position of vertebrae along a person's spinal cord or the position of a person's cervical notch.

[0041] In an embodiment, the method includes determining whether the image in which the person is detected includes an image of the person in front view, where an estimation of a body part position of the person is performed in response to a result of the determination. The estimated body part position may be a position of the person's cervical notch, and estimating the body part position may include determining positions of each of the person's chin, left shoulder, and right shoulder based on the detected body part positions, identifying an intermediate position between the left shoulder and right shoulder positions, calculating a distance from the chin position to the intermediate position, and estimating the position of the cervical notch based on the chin position and the calculated distance.

[0042] In an embodiment, the method may further include determining whether the image in which the person is detected includes an image of the person across the sagittal plane, and performing an estimation of a body part position of the person in response to a result of the determination. The body part position may be a position of the person's cervical notch, and the estimation of the body part position may include determining a position of each of the person's chin and shoulder based on the detected body part positions, identifying a midpoint position along a vertical line starting from the chin position and ending at a horizontal line passing through the shoulder position, and calculating a distance from the shoulder position to the midpoint position; calculating an angle between a line from the shoulder position to the midpoint position and the horizontal line passing through the shoulder position, and a position of the cervical notch based on the calculated distance and the calculated angle. The method may further include estimating a position of a vertebra along the person's spinal cord based on the estimated position of the cervical notch and a relative distance between each vertebra along the spinal cord.

[0043] 2 illustrates a block diagram of a device 200 for estimating a body part position of a person according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the device 200 can be generally described as a physical device including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the physical device, using the at least one processor, to perform the operations described in FIG.

[0044] In an implementation, the device 200 can receive input video or images (e.g., video frames or images of front, front and / or side views of a person's body, or other similar images) from a source 202. For example, the input images or videos may be newly captured images or videos, may be from an existing image or video database, may be captured by a camera, or may be stored in a device such as a smartphone, camera, or other similar device. In one example, the input video may be decomposed into a number of still video image frames such that each video image frame is analyzed by the device 200. The device 200 can include a landmark detection system 204 configured to determine a set of two-dimensional and / or three-dimensional body landmark positions from the input video or images, and a pose analyzer 206 configured to determine a level of body alignment deviation and / or posture abnormality score (e.g., asymmetry score) based on the set of two-dimensional and / or three-dimensional body landmark positions and other demographic data as input. In one example, landmark detection system 204 may be configured to determine whether the image is an anterior, posterior, or side view of the person's body to determine landmark locations, and may be configured to estimate locations of additional body parts, such as the person's jugular notch, midline, mid-thorax, and spinal vertebrae, based on the detected landmarks corresponding to multiple body part locations of the person. Landmark detection system 204 is further described in FIGS. 3-16.

[0045] The device 200 may be configured to display video and / or images received from the source 202 and / or the inputs and outputs of the landmark detection system 204 and the pose analyzer 206 on a user interface 210. A user of the device 200 may also interact with the user interface 210 by data input via an input / output interface display 212. It should be understood that each of the landmark detection system 204 and the pose analyzer 206 may be part of the device 200 or may be a stand-alone device or part of another device, and are in communication with the device 200 via a connection. Such a connection may be wired, wireless (e.g., via NFC communication, Bluetooth, etc.) or via a network (e.g., the Internet).

[0046] The device may include a data store 208 accessible by the device 200 for storing video and images from the sources 202, as well as the inputs and outputs of the landmark detection system 204 and the pose analyzer 206. While the data store is shown in FIG. 2 to be part of the device 200, it should be understood that the data store 208 may not form part of the device 200, but is in communication with the device 200 via a connection. Such a connection may be wired, wireless (e.g., via NFC communication, Bluetooth, etc.), over a network (e.g., the Internet) or via a cloud server. In another embodiment, each of the landmark detection system 204, the pose analyzer 206, and the sources 202 may be provided with its own data store for storing its input / output data.

[0047] In an embodiment, video or images (e.g., video frames or images of front, front and / or side views of a person's body, or other similar images) are received and stored in data store 208 before being used as input by landmark detection system 204, or are sent directly to landmark detection system 204 as input without going through data store 208. Landmark detection system 204 can determine a set of two-dimensional and / or three-dimensional body landmark locations from the input video or images, and pose analyzer 206 can determine a level of body alignment deviation and / or posture abnormality score (e.g., asymmetry score) based on the set of two-dimensional and / or three-dimensional body landmark locations and other demographic data as input. Output of landmark detection system 204 and / or pose analyzer 206 can be displayed on an input / output user interface display of user interface 210.

[0048] In an embodiment, a system for estimating a body part position of a person may include apparatus 200 and one or more image capture devices configured to capture one or more images of the person, the one or more images including an image of the person from a frontal view and / or an image of the person across a sagittal plane.

[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart 300 of a landmark detection system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In step 302, images of the front, back, and side of a person's body may be acquired. In one example, it may be determined whether the acquired images are a front view, a front view (e.g., an image of the person viewed from the front) and / or a side view (e.g., an image of the person across a sagittal plane, such as a right and / or left side view) of the person's body. In one example of acquiring an input video, the video may be decomposed into a number of still video frames, and it may be determined whether each video frame is a front view, a back view, or a side view of the person's body. In step 304, anatomical landmarks of each body part in the video (e.g., spatial coordinates of each landmark representing the location of the corresponding body part) may be acquired. In step 306, facial landmark coordinates may be acquired. For example, in steps 304 and 306, each of a number of body part positions may be detected and indicated by a respective landmark. In step 304, positions of body parts such as elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, toes, and other similar body parts of the person may be detected. In step 306, the location of body parts on the face, such as the chin, ears, and other similar body parts of the person's face, may be detected. In step 308, landmark coordinates of the person's cervical notch may be obtained. For example, the location of the cervical notch may be estimated based on the detected locations of the person's chin and shoulders. The process for obtaining the location of the cervical notch from the front and side views is further described in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, respectively. In step 310, landmark coordinates of the chest may be obtained. For example, the location of the person's centerline and central chest may be estimated based on the estimated location of the person's cervical notch. The process for obtaining the location of the centerline and central chest is further described in FIG. 10 through FIG. 11C. In step 312, it may be determined whether the acquired image is a side view of the person's body. If it is not determined that this is the case, the process proceeds to step 314, where the obtained anatomical landmarks are reviewed with a clinician or medical professional, and the process ends.If not, the process proceeds to step 316 where spinal landmark coordinates are obtained, then proceeds to step 314 where the obtained anatomical landmarks (e.g., including spinal landmark coordinates) are reviewed with a clinician or medical professional, and the process ends. For example, spinal landmark coordinates (e.g., landmark coordinates indicating the location of the person's spinal vertebrae) may be estimated from a lateral view of the person based on an estimated location of the person's mid-thorax. The process for obtaining the location of the spinal vertebrae is further described in Figures 12 and 13.

[0050] 4 illustrates an exemplary diagram 400 for landmark detection according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, referring to the flowchart 300, in step 304, landmark coordinates for each body part in section 402 can be obtained. In step 306, landmark coordinates for face section 406 can be obtained. In step 310, landmark coordinates for chest section 404 can be obtained. In step 316, spinal landmark coordinates for spinal section 408 (e.g., as may be seen from a side view of the person's body) can be obtained. Additionally, in step 308, landmark coordinates 410 indicative of the cervical notch can be obtained.

[0051] In one example, an open source body and facial landmark detection engine, such as the MediaPipe Holistic Engine, can be utilized to obtain the required anatomical landmark coordinates, for example, in steps 304 and 306 of flowchart 300. However, open source engines typically cannot provide some of the landmarks required by the clinician, as shown in landmark diagram 500 of FIG. 5. For example, the jugular notch landmark, as shown at 502, is typically provided manually by the clinician. It will be appreciated that the required anatomical landmark coordinates can also be obtained by other non-open source proprietary landmark detection engines.

[0052] FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram 600 for detecting a jugular notch (JN) from a front view of a person's body (e.g., an image of a person seen from the front) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The respective positions of the person's chin, left shoulder, and right shoulder may be determined based on the positions of the multiple body parts detected, for example, in steps 304 and 306 of the flowchart 300. For example, the chin landmark coordinate (C) may be defined as C:[Cx, Cy] (e.g., obtained in step 306 of the flowchart 300), and the shoulder midpoint landmark coordinate (Sm) may be defined as Sm:[Smx, Smy] (e.g., identifying the middle position of the left and right shoulder positions based on the landmark coordinates corresponding to the person's left and right shoulders obtained in step 304 of the flowchart 300). Furthermore, the distance from the chin position to the shoulder midpoint position may be calculated and defined as dCSm. Then, based on the chin position and the calculated distance, the position of the person's jugular notch may be estimated. For example, the landmark coordinates of the cervical notch may be defined as JN:[JNx, JNy]. Thus, based on the landmark coordinates of the chin, shoulder, and midpoint, it is determined that JNx corresponds to Smx, and JNy corresponds to Smy-25%dCSm.

[0053] Furthermore, it is also possible to determine the position of the cervical notch from a side view of the person's body (e.g., an image of the person across the sagittal plane), as shown in diagram 700 of FIG. 7. The positions of the person's chin and left or right shoulder (depending on the side of the person that the image shows) can be determined based on the positions of multiple body parts detected, for example, in steps 304 and 306 of flowchart 300. The shoulder landmark coordinate (S) can be defined as S:[Sx,Sy] (e.g., based on the landmark coordinates corresponding to the person's left or right shoulder obtained in step 304 of flowchart 300). A midpoint position along a vertical line starting from the chin position (e.g., the landmark coordinates corresponding to the chin position obtained in step 306 of flowchart 300) and ending at a horizontal line passing through the shoulder position can be identified. The vertical distance from the jaw position (C) to the horizontal line may be defined as dCS, 50% of this vertical distance (e.g., the distance from the jaw position to the midpoint position) may be calculated to define mCS, the distance from the shoulder to the midpoint may be calculated to define l, and θ may be calculated to define the angle between the line from the shoulder position to the midpoint position and the horizontal line passing through the shoulder position (S). Based on the calculated distance I and the calculated angle θ, the cervical notch (JN) may be detected and defined as JN:[JNx, JNy], where JNx corresponds to Sx±x, x=cos(θ)*l / 2, JNy corresponds to Sy-y, and y=25%dCS. Based on these techniques and calculations, the cervical notch may be identified based on a front image (e.g., cervical notch landmark 802 from the exemplary front view image 800 of FIG. 8) and a side image (e.g., cervical notch landmarks 904 and 906 from the exemplary side view images 900 and 902 of FIG. 9).

[0054] FIG. 10 shows a front view for identifying the centerline (CR) location based on the detected cervical notch (JN) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Based on the cervical notch (JN), the centerline (CR) location can be calculated, where the centerline location can be 3-4 inches (e.g., 8-10 cm) below the location of the cervical notch. Based on the cervical notch (JN) of FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, to detect the centerline (CR) location, chest and mid-chest (e.g., T7), a right lateral view 1100 and / or a left lateral view 1102 of the person's body can be used to detect the CR location or a mirror image of the mid-chest or T7. For example, the landmark used to locate the centerline (CR) is at T7 (e.g., mid-chest). The level of T7 is 3-4 inches (e.g., 8-10 cm) below the cervical notch.

[0055] 12 and 13 show right lateral view 1200 and left lateral view 1300, respectively, for estimating the location of the cervical (C7), thoracic (T2, T7, T10), lumbar (L1 and L4), and sacral (S2) vertebrae of the spinal cord according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The location of the vertebrae along the person's spinal cord can be estimated based on the estimated location of the person's mid-thorax and the relative distance between each vertebra along the spinal cord. For example, based on the approximate distance between T7 and C7 and previous research on the ratio of the thoracic and posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) by Ernst et al., the location of C7, T2, T7, T10, L1, L4, and S2 (PSIS) can be estimated using the lateral view images 1200 and 1300. In one example, a flexible ruler can be placed on the person's back to determine the distance between various segments of the spinal cord. The estimated distance can be utilized to calculate the percentage location of the distance of the entire segment from C7 to the PSIS.

[0056] 14, 15A and 15B show the results of a landmark detection system from a front / front view image 1400, a left side view image 1500 and a right side view image 1502, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where each landmark indicates a body part and is represented by a dot on the person's body in the images. For example, the person's jugular notch is indicated by landmark 1402 in image 1400 and by landmark 1504 in images 1500 and 1502. Further results of the landmark detection system are also shown in body edge image 1202 of FIG. 12 and body edge image 1302 of FIG. 13, where, for example, based on the landmarks detected for the person's entire body in images 1500 and 1502, the detected landmarks for the spinal cord are selected and displayed on the body edge images 1202 and 1302, respectively, e.g., the detected spinal cord landmarks are shown as white dots in the body edge images 1202 and 1302.

[0057] Figure 16 illustrates an exemplary computing device 1600, hereinafter synonymous with computer system 1600, one or more such computing devices 1600 may be used to perform the method of Figure 1. The exemplary computing device 1600 may be used to implement the device 200 shown in Figure 2. The following description of the computing device 1600 is provided by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0058] As shown in Figure 16, the exemplary computing device 1600 includes a processor 1604 for executing software routines. Although a single processor is shown for clarity, the computing device 1600 may also include a multi-processor system. The processor 1604 is connected to a communications infrastructure 1606 for communicating with other components of the computing device 1600. The communications infrastructure 1606 may include, for example, a communications bus, crossbar, or network.

[0059] The computing device 1600 further includes a main memory 1608, such as a random access memory (RAM), and a secondary memory 1610. The secondary memory 1610 may include a storage drive 1612, which may be, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a hybrid drive, and / or a removable storage drive 1614, which may include a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a solid state storage drive (USB flash drive, flash memory device, solid state drive, memory card, etc.), etc. The removable storage drive 1614 reads from and / or writes to the removable storage medium 1618 in a well-known manner. The removable storage medium 1618 may include a magnetic tape, an optical disk, a non-volatile memory storage medium, etc., which may be read from and written to by the removable storage drive 1614. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the removable storage medium 1618 may include a computer readable storage medium having computer executable program code instructions and / or data stored thereon.

[0060] In alternative embodiments, the secondary memory 1610 may additionally or alternatively include other similar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into the computer system 1600. Such means may include, for example, a removable storage device 1622 and an interface 1620. Examples of removable storage devices 1622 and interfaces 1620 include program cartridges and cartridge interfaces (such as those found in video game console devices), removable storage chips (such as EPROMs or PROMs) and associated sockets, removable solid-state storage devices (USB flash drives, flash memory devices, solid state drives, memory cards, etc.), and other removable storage devices 1622 and interfaces 1620 that allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage device 1622 to the computer system 1600.

[0061] The computing device 1600 also includes at least one communication interface 1624. The communication interface 1624 allows software and data to be transferred between the computing device 1600 and external devices via a communication path 1626. In various embodiments of the invention, the communication interface 1624 allows data to be transferred between the computing device 1600 and a data communication network, such as a public or private data communication network. The communication interface 1624 can be used to exchange data between different computing devices 1600, where such computing devices 1600 form part of an interconnected computer network. Examples of the communication interface 1624 can include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communication port (such as serial, parallel, printer, GPIB, IEEE1394, RJ45, USB, etc.), an antenna with associated circuitry, etc. The communication interface 1624 can be wired or wireless. The software and data transferred via the communication interface 1624 is in the form of signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals receivable by the communication interface 1624. These signals are provided to the communications interface via communications path 1626.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 16, the computing device 1600 further includes a display interface 1602 that performs operations to present images on an associated display 1630, and an audio interface 1632 that performs operations to play audio content via associated speakers 1634.

[0063] The term "computer program product" as used herein may refer, in part, to removable storage medium 1618, removable storage device 1622, a hard disk attached to storage drive 1612, or software conveying a carrier wave to communication interface 1624 via communication path 1626 (wireless link or cable). A computer readable storage medium refers to any non-transitory, non-volatile, tangible storage medium that provides recorded instructions and / or data to computer device 1600 for execution and / or processing. Examples of such storage media include magnetic tapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-ray disks, hard disk drives, ROMs or integrated circuits, solid-state storage drives (such as USB flash drives, flash memory devices, solid-state drives, memory cards, etc.), hybrid drives, magneto-optical disks, or computer readable cards such as PCMCIA cards, whether these devices are internal or external to computer device 1600. Examples of transitory or non-tangible computer-readable transmission media that may also be involved in providing software, application programs, instructions and / or data to computer device 1600 include wireless or infrared transmission channels, network connections to other computers or networked devices, and the Internet or intranets, including email transmissions and recorded information on websites and the like.

[0064] Computer programs (also referred to as computer program code) are stored in the main memory 1608 and / or the secondary memory 1610. Computer programs may also be received via communications interface 1624. When such computer programs are executed, they can cause the computing device 1600 to perform one or more features of the embodiments described herein. In various embodiments, when the computer programs are executed, they can cause the processor 1604 to perform the features of the above-mentioned embodiments. Thus, such computer programs represent controllers of the computing system 1600.

[0065] The software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into the computing device 1600 using the removable storage drive 1614, the storage drive 1612, or the interface 1620. The computer program product may be a non-transitory computer readable medium. Alternatively, the computer program product may be downloaded to the computing system 1600 via the communications path 1626. The software, when executed by the processor 1604, causes the computing device 1600 to perform the operations necessary to execute the method as shown in FIG.

[0066] It should be understood that the embodiment of FIG. 16 is presented merely as an example to explain the operation and structure of the device 200. Thus, in some embodiments, one or more features of the computer device 1600 may be omitted. Also, in some embodiments, one or more features of the computer device 1600 may be combined together. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one or more features of the computer device 1600 may be split into one or more component parts.

[0067] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous variations and / or modifications may be made to the invention as illustrated in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described, and the present embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Appendix 1) detecting, by a processor, a plurality of body part positions of the person from the image in which the person is detected, each of the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person; The method for estimating a body part position of a person, wherein the processor estimates a body part position of the person based on a plurality of detected body part positions. (Appendix 2) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating the body part position estimates the position of a vertebra along the person's spinal cord or the position of the person's cervical notch. (Appendix 3) The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the image in which the person is detected includes an image of the person viewed from the front, and estimating a body part position of the person in response to the result of the determination. (Appendix 4) the estimated body part location is the location of the person's jugular slit; estimating the body part position comprises: determining a chin position, a left shoulder position and a right shoulder position of the person based on the detected body part positions; Identifying the location of the midpoint between the left and right shoulder positions; Calculate the distance from the chin position to the midpoint position. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising estimating the position of the cervical notch based on the position of the jaw and the calculated distance. (Appendix 5) moreover, 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the image in which the person is detected includes an image of the person crossing a sagittal plane, and performing an estimation of a body part position of the person in response to a result of the determination. (Appendix 6) the body part location is a location of the person's jugular notch; The estimation of the body part position comprises: determining a chin and shoulder position of the person based on the detected body part positions; Identify the midpoint along a vertical line that begins at the chin and ends at a horizontal line that passes through the shoulders; Calculate the distance from the shoulder to the midpoint. Calculate the angle between the line from the shoulder to the midpoint and the horizontal line passing through the shoulder. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising estimating the location of the cervical notch based on the calculated distance and the calculated angle. (Appendix 7) moreover, 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising estimating a position of a vertebra along a person's spinal cord based on an estimated position of a cervical notch and a relative distance between each vertebra along the spinal cord. (Appendix 8) At least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code; At least one memory and computer program code are used by at least one processor to cause the apparatus to at least: Detecting a plurality of body part positions of a person from an image in which the person is detected, each of the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person; An apparatus for estimating a body part position of a person, configured to cause estimating a body part position of the person based on one or more of the detected body part positions. (Appendix 9) 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein estimating the body part position estimates a position of a vertebra along the person's spinal cord or a position of the person's cervical notch. (Appendix 10) The at least one memory and the computer program code are used by the at least one processor to cause the device to at least: 9. The apparatus of claim 8, further configured to determine whether the image in which the person is detected includes an image of the person from a front view, and in response to a result of the determination, an estimation of a body part position of the person is performed. (Appendix 11) the body part location is a location of the person's jugular notch; The estimation of the body part position comprises: determining a position of a chin, a left shoulder, and a right shoulder of the person based on the positions of the detected body parts; Identify the midpoint between the left and right shoulder positions, Calculate the distance from the jaw position to the midpoint, 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus estimates the position of the cervical notch based on the position of the jaw and the calculated distance. (Appendix 12) At least one memory and computer program code are used to configure the device, using at least one processor, to at least: 9. The apparatus of claim 8, configured to determine whether an image in which the person is detected includes an image of the person across a sagittal plane, and wherein an estimation of a body part position of the person is performed in response to a result of the determination. (Appendix 13) the body part location is a location of the person's jugular notch; The estimation of the body part position comprises: determining a chin and shoulder position of the person based on the detected body part positions; Identify the location of the midpoint along a vertical line that begins at the chin and ends at a horizontal line that passes through the shoulders. Calculate the distance from the shoulder position to the midpoint position; Calculating the angle between a line from the shoulder position to the midpoint position and a horizontal line passing through the shoulder position; 13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: estimating a position of the cervical notch based on the calculated distance and the calculated angle. (Appendix 14) At least one memory and computer program code are used to configure the device, using at least one processor, to at least: 14. The apparatus of claim 13, configured to estimate a position of vertebrae along the person's spinal cord based on the estimated position of the cervical notch and a relative distance between each vertebra along the spinal cord. (Appendix 15) An apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 14, one or more image capture devices configured to capture one or more images of the person; A system for estimating a body part position of a person, wherein the one or more images include an image of the person viewed from the front and / or an image of the person viewed across a sagittal plane.

Claims

1. detecting, by a processor, a plurality of body part positions of the person from the front view, rear view, and / or side view images of the person, each of the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person; 1. A method for estimating a body part position of a person, the method comprising: moreover, determining whether the front view, rear view and / or side view images of the person include a sagittal image of the person, and performing an estimation of a body part position of the person in response to a result of said determining; the body part location is a location of the person's jugular notch; The estimation of the body part position comprises: determining a chin and shoulder position of the person based on the detected body part positions; Identify the midpoint along a vertical line that begins at the chin and ends at a horizontal line that passes through the shoulders; Calculate the distance from the shoulder to the midpoint. Calculate the angle between the line from the shoulder to the midpoint and the horizontal line passing through the shoulder. Estimating the location of the cervical notch based on the calculated distance and the calculated angle; moreover, A method of estimating the location of vertebrae along a person's spinal cord based on an estimated location of a cervical notch and a relative distance between each vertebra along the spinal cord.

2. At least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code; detecting a plurality of body part positions of the person from front view, rear view and / or side view images of the person, each of the plurality of body part positions corresponding to a body part of the person; An apparatus for estimating a body part position of a person, configured to cause estimating a body part position of the person based on one or more of a plurality of detected body part positions.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein estimating the body part position estimates a position of a vertebra along a spinal cord of a person or a position of a cervical notch of a person.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, one or more image capture devices configured to capture one or more images of the person; A system for estimating a body part position of a person, wherein the one or more images include an image of the person from a frontal view and / or a sagittal image of the person.

Images