Apparatus and method for acquiring unique still and video images without using filters or dichroic mirrors.

Abstract

An apparatus and method are provided for generating unique images without barrier filters or dichroic mirrors. The method involves collecting an image of a focused field of view and a diffuse image of the same field of view. The diffuse image is obtained by placing a semi-transparent material in the path between the camera and the field of view. The semi-transparent material allows the illumination energy to pass through, diffusing spatial details of the field of view and generating a featureless illumination image. The focused and diffuse images are then processed pixel by pixel to generate a unique image free of extraneous illumination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for obtaining a unique image and video without using a filter or a dichroic mirror by removing irrelevant illumination.

Background Art

[0002] The primary goal of imaging is to obtain high-quality images and videos. Progress towards this goal has been to improve the camera with respect to optical components and exposure mechanisms. Digital cameras with various pixel sensor arrays have contributed greatly to this effort. However, these efforts do not address spectral components that interfere with image quality.

[0003] Typically, fluorescence imaging utilizes a narrow wavelength range of illumination directed at a material to excite the molecular structure of the material. The resulting spectrum contains the emission component, but the wavelengths of the illumination component are removed using dichroic mirrors and barrier filters. This results in a spectrum containing only the spectral emission component.

[0004] Recently, methods have been developed to acquire unique fluorescence images using a standard camera without the use of filters or dichroic mirrors. These patented methods describe how irrelevant illumination, i.e., components in the field of view that are not absorbed by the material, can be removed from the image through a specific process. While the specific imaging processes described in these patents remove irrelevant illumination and measure spectral components, the methods for acquiring the data are not uniform and are not the most practical. For example, one method (US Patents 9,435,687 and 9,998,636, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety) requires four separate fields of view and two separate cameras. An improved method (US Patent 10,652,484, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) requires only one field of view and one camera, but the field of view image needs to be both focused and blurred. Although only one field of view is needed, manually blurring the camera's focus is cumbersome and carries the risk of field of view misalignment, thus introducing errors into the processing. In addition, at low magnification and high f-stops, the camera may not be able to focus sufficiently to completely eliminate spatial detail within the field of view.

[0005] The ability to acquire distinctive images with a standard camera can be beneficial for any field that relies on obtaining distinctive information regarding the identification and inspection of objects of interest. These fields include, but are not limited to, imaging in geology, forensic science, agriculture, biology, astronomy, inspection, meteorology, oceanography, and medicine.

[0006] These patented methods generate unique images, but require multiple fields of view for calibration, targeting, and reference, making data acquisition complex and difficult. The present invention provides significant technical improvements and simplifications in data acquisition and subsequent processing for unique image generation and image display. [Overview of the project]

[0007] The present invention provides an apparatus and method for generating a unique image without barrier filters or dichroic mirrors. The invention includes collecting a field of focus and then acquiring a diffuse image of the same field of view, or vice versa. The diffuse image is acquired by placing a translucent material in the path between the camera and the field of view. The translucent material allows the transmission of illumination energy, diffusing the spatial details of the field of view and generating an illuminance image without distinctive features.

[0008] It is important that diffuse images of the same field of view maintain the same illumination characteristics, such as the same intensity gradient as the focused image. The set of focused and diffuse images can then be processed by two methods to generate a unique image. The criteria for the translucent material necessary to generate an effective or optimal diffuse image according to the present invention are as follows: 1. Translucent materials allow all wavelengths of light to pass through. 2. The resulting diffuse image shall not contain any spatial features of the in-focus image. 3. The diffuse image must have the same illuminance distribution, i.e., the same intensity gradient, as the focused image. 4. The translucent material shall pass through the illumination wavelength range proportionally, meaning it shall not exhibit biased absorption or emission, such as fluorescence properties.

[0009] The style of the present invention The present invention is suitable for single-frame and multi-frame image acquisition, and in particular, but not limited to, single-exposure, multispectral, hyperspectral, and video acquisition. The structural form of the device may be (1) positioned separately above the camera lens, (2) attached to or incorporated into the camera, or (3) provided to hold the camera. The location of installation and operation of the translucent material may be outside the camera or inside the camera body. For the purposes of this invention, the terms camera and imaging device are used without distinction throughout this specification and are non-limiting examples intended to cover other devices that can acquire images through a lens. Non-limiting embodiments of this invention also cover microscopes, telescopes, drone cameras, mirrorless cameras, and satellites.

[0010] Each set of in-focus and diffuse images of the field of view is processed by software to remove irrelevant illumination, i.e., illumination wavelengths that are not absorbed and illuminance variations due to transmission through translucent materials. Each set of images may be subjected to a simple intrinsic processing, which subtracts the intensity of each pixel in the diffuse image from the corresponding intensity of the in-focus pixel, or a more advanced intrinsic processing, which subtracts the intensity of residual components generated by illumination passing through translucent materials from the in-focus image pixel by pixel. If the calibrated residual is determined to have a low contribution, for example, less than 5% of the illumination from translucent materials and automatic camera adjustments, the simple processing method may be considered appropriate.

[0011] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following embodiments for carrying out the invention, which will be understood in relation to the accompanying drawings illustrating exemplary embodiments of the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1a] This figure shows a device with one end covered by a translucent material placed over a camera lens. [Figure 1b]This figure shows a device with one end covered by a translucent material placed over a camera lens. [Figure 2a] This figure shows another embodiment of a device attached to the lens of a camera or telescope, having a translucent material that can be moved in and out of the path between the lens and the field of view. [Figure 2b] This figure shows another embodiment of a device attached to the lens of a camera or telescope, having a translucent material that can be moved in and out of the path between the lens and the field of view. [Figure 3a] This figure shows another embodiment of a device for holding a smartphone or tablet, which is equipped with an auto-adjusting camera and a translucent material that can be moved in and out of the path between the camera lens and the field of view. [Figure 3b] This figure shows another embodiment of a device for holding a smartphone or tablet, which is equipped with an auto-adjusting camera and a translucent material that can be moved in and out of the path between the camera lens and the field of view. [Figure 3c] This figure shows another embodiment of a device for holding a smartphone or tablet, which is equipped with an auto-adjusting camera and a translucent material that can be moved in and out of the path between the camera lens and the field of view. [Figure 4a] This figure shows another embodiment of a device for holding a smartphone, which is equipped with an auto-adjusting camera and a translucent material that can be moved in and out of the path between the camera lens and the field of view. [Figure 4b] This figure shows another embodiment of a device for holding a smartphone, which is equipped with an auto-adjusting camera and a translucent material that can be moved in and out of the path between the camera lens and the field of view. [Figure 5a] This figure shows a device in which a rotating wheel [1] having holes along its rim covered with a translucent material [3], is attached to a video camera [2]. [Figure 5b] This figure shows a device in which a rotating wheel [1] having holes along its rim covered with a translucent material [3], is attached to a video camera [2]. [Figure 5c]A diagram showing a device in which a rotating wheel [1] having holes covered with a translucent material [3] at every other position is attached to a video camera [2]. [Figure 6a] A diagram showing a focused image of tremolite, a fluorescent mineral, irradiated with UV light of 390 nm. [Figure 6b] A diagram showing the tremolite of Fig. 6a imaged through a translucent white paper. After a simple process, the illumination has no light-emitting component and is completely absorbed by the tremolite. [Figure 7a] A diagram showing a focused image of tremolite, a fluorescent mineral, irradiated with UV light of 390 nm. [Figure 7b] A diagram showing the tremolite of Fig. 7a imaged through a translucent polyethylene. After a simple process, the image shows the removal of irrelevant illumination and strong light emission by the tremolite. [Figure 8a] A diagram showing a focused calibration image of sunny weather. [Figure 8b] A diagram showing a calibrated image of diffused sky according to the present invention. [Figure 8c] A diagram showing a calibrated image after processing. This is an afterimage representing the intensity difference due to illumination passing through the translucent material. [Figure 9a] A diagram showing a focused image of a leaf irradiated with direct sunlight. The white line indicates the row of pixels to be analyzed (row 1900 from columns 1000 to 2000). [Figure 9b] A diagram showing a diffused image of the leaf of Fig. 9a. The white line indicates the row of pixels to be analyzed (row 1900 from columns 1000 to 2000). [Figure 9c] A diagram showing an image of the leaf of Fig. 9a after a proprietary process. The white line indicates the row of pixels to be analyzed (row 1900 from columns 1000 to 2000). [Figure 10a] A graph of unprocessed focused intensity showing simple and advanced processing over the row of pixels in the analysis region indicated by the white line in the image of Fig. 9a. [Figure 10b]A diagram showing a graph of the intensity of the pixels in row 1900 of the diffusion image and a graph of the residual intensity of the pixels in row 1900 of the calibration images of FIGS. 8a to 8c used to perform advanced proprietary processing. [Figure 11a] A diagram showing a reflection configuration for analyzing yellow paper. [Figure 11b] A diagram showing the spectrum of white LED illumination and the proprietary spectrum of the reflected spectral components. It was determined that 89 percent of the illumination was irrelevant and 11 percent was absorbed by the yellow paper. [Figure 12a] A diagram showing a border illuminated by direct sunlight. It is accompanied by a close-up focused image of the border portion. [Figure 12b] A diagram showing a close-up diffusion image of the same portion of the border shown in FIG. 12a. [Figure 12c] A diagram showing the same portion of the border shown in FIG. 12a after simple proprietary processing. It shows a complex pattern of fluorescent substances, and the highest intensity of the proprietary image is 29.7 percent of the focused image, indicating that 70.3 percent of the irrelevant illumination has been removed from the focused image. [Figure 13a] A diagram showing a focused image of cumulus clouds. [Figure 13b] A diagram showing the image of the cloud shown in FIG. 13a after proprietary processing. The highest intensity of the proprietary image is 53.6 percent of the focused image, indicating that 46.4 percent of the irrelevant illumination has been removed from the focused image. [Figure 14a] A diagram showing a focused image of a complex pattern rich in colors. [Figure 14b] A diagram showing an image of the pattern after simple proprietary processing. The highest intensity of the proprietary image is 45.7 percent of the focused image, indicating that 54.3 percent of the irrelevant illumination has been removed from the focused image. [Figure 15a] A diagram showing a focused image of a duplicate print. [Figure 15b]This figure shows the reproduced print image after the specific processing shown in Figure 15a. The highest intensity of the specific image is 35.6 percent of the in-focus image, indicating that 64.4 percent of the irrelevant illumination was removed from the in-focus image, and that the specific blue region, which was obscured by the illumination in the in-focus image, has appeared. [Figure 16] This figure shows a method for generating a unique video image according to the present invention.

[0013] Throughout these figures, the same reference numbers and letters are used to represent similar elements, components, parts, or features of the illustrated embodiments, unless otherwise specified. The subject invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments, along with the accompanying drawings. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Device configuration In the simplest configuration of the device, a device 1 containing a translucent material (diffusing element) 3 is placed on the camera 2 as shown in Figures 1a and 1b to generate a diffuse image. Another configuration is achieved by mounting the device 1 containing the translucent material 3 to the camera 2 so that it moves in and out of the path between the field of view and the camera lens, as shown in Figures 2a and 2b. This form is suitable for cameras and telescopes with long lenses, as the optical tube is considered the lens of the camera.

[0015] In a third configuration of the device, device 1 holds the camera body or case, and the translucent material 3 moves rotatably in and out of the path between the camera lens 2a and the field of view. This configuration is suitable for use with smartphones and tablets having an auto-adjusting camera 2a, as shown in Figures 3a-3c and 4a-4b, where mounting or incorporating a diffusion element on the camera lens 2a is impractical or difficult. For the purposes of this invention, rotatably moving means rotating or pivoting the diffusion element relative to the holding device or camera (in some direction or plane) to position it in front of or away from the camera lens.

[0016] To apply the present invention to a video camera, a format is needed to generate a continuous stream of sets of in-focus and diffused video images. A preferred method, though not the only one, involves synchronizing a rotating wheel (synchronization element) 1a with the frame rate of the camera 2 such that every other frame generates a diffused image followed by an in-focus image, or vice versa. This can be achieved by a wheel in which half of the wheel's region 3a is open (transparent) and the other half is covered with a translucent material 3. Synchronizing the rotation of this wheel to half the frame rate of the video camera results in a continuous stream of sets of images in which diffused images are followed by in-focus images, which can be processed into a video by the method of the present invention. For example, when a 60 frames / second (fps) video camera is used, the rotating wheel may be operated at 30 rotations / second to obtain 60 continuously alternating in-focus and diffused images, with one image per frame, as shown in Figure 16. According to the simple processing method of the present invention, 30 sets of alternating in-focus and diffused images (60 images in total) are processed per second, the intensity of the diffused image is subtracted from the intensity of the in-focus image for each pixel, and a unique video consisting of 30 consecutive unique frames per second is obtained, which is played back at 30fps.

[0017] For advanced processing, a single afterimage is calculated and stored in memory to be used until a new afterimage is calculated. In the example above, the calculated identical afterimage is added to each of the 30 previously acquired diffuse images to generate 30 adjusted diffuse images, which are then subtracted pixel by pixel from the acquired in-focus image to generate a unique video consisting of 30 consecutive unique frames per second, which is played back at 30fps.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, afterimages can be calculated from a single set of calibration in-focus and diffuse images (e.g., from a sunny day) acquired by a synchronized rotating wheel as previously described. Alternatively, multiple afterimages can be calculated from multiple sets of calibration in-focus and diffuse images, and the average afterimage can be calculated by averaging the intensity of all calculated afterimages pixel by pixel. If the video camera also has the ability to capture still images, it is conceivable that afterimages can be calculated from in-focus and diffuse still images acquired by the camera. The calculated afterimages remain valid as long as the illumination or translucent material is not replaced.

[0019] Therefore, for a unique video, one afterimage is sufficient because the video frames are obtained under certain conditions.

[0020] Due to the high video frame rate, this configuration extends to a wheel having multiple transparent holes 3a and openings and translucent covers 3 alternating along its periphery. These configurations of the device are shown in Figures 5a and 5c. The synchronization element 1a may also be provided within the video camera 2. In a preferred embodiment, the synchronization element 1a is a rotating wheel, but the synchronization element 1a may also be implemented by other moving mechanisms, such as pivoting or linear reciprocating motion, which enable the video camera 2 to acquire identical sets of in-focus video images and diffused video images in the manner of the present invention.

[0021] Processing of unique images The image contains various spectral components, including absorption, emission, inherent reflections, and irrelevant illumination. Irrelevant illumination is defined as illumination components that are not absorbed by the field of view. This irrelevant illumination is a large spectral component and acts like fog or noise when considering the process in terms of signal-to-noise ratio. That is, by reducing the "noise," the inherent components become apparent.

[0022] Conventional methods for obtaining intrinsic emission, or fluorescence, of an object require irradiating the target material with narrowband excitation illumination acquired using a laser and narrowband filters, and then removing the excitation illumination using long-pass filters and dichroic mirrors. These filters and mirrors remove the unabsorbed illumination components, revealing the intrinsic emission.

[0023] Previously, a patent incorporated by reference presented a novel method called intrinsic processing, which achieves the same results without using filters or dichroic mirrors. However, if the wavelength range of illumination is broad, it may include the entire absorption envelope, such as solar radiation. Under these conditions, intrinsic emission is not the only spectral component obtained using intrinsic processing. Intrinsic processing reveals that there are two components: overall illumination reflection and intrinsic reflection. Illumination reflection is the reflection of the entire wavelength range of illumination by the object, and in the case of solar radiation, the reflection is considered to be white light. Intrinsic reflection is a proportional residual illumination component that is not absorbed by the object in the field of view. Intrinsic reflection, even if it is a small component relative to the overall illumination, emits the perceived color of the object. Similar to mixing colored paints, a relatively small amount of pigment, i.e., the intrinsic component, results in a light-colored paint with white as the base color.

[0024] The present invention provides two methods for removing irrelevant illumination components: (1) a simple, inherent process of subtracting the intensity of the diffuse image from the intensity of the focused image pixel by pixel; and (2) an advanced, inherent process of determining afterimage components using a calibrated field of view lacking spatial detail by subtracting the intensity of an acquired calibrated diffuse image from a field of view lacking spatial detail from the corresponding intensity of an acquired calibrated focused image from the same field of view lacking spatial detail, pixel by pixel. The intensity of this afterimage is added to the intensity of the diffuse image pixel by pixel to generate a regulated diffuse image, and these are then subtracted from the intensity of the focused image pixel by pixel.

[0025] Much effort has been spent modeling how to remove spectral foreground components such as haze, water vapor, and particulate matter from images of distant fields of view, such as those obtained from satellites. The success of this invention's unique processing technique lies in the fact that diffuse illumination images can be obtained almost simultaneously with in-focus images, under the same field of view and camera conditions. This provides the most accurate real-time illumination and foreground data of the field of view for processing the in-focus image.

[0026] A simple and inherent method of image processing is considered straightforward in that the intensity of the diffuse image is subtracted pixel by pixel from the intensity of the in-focus image. This removes irrelevant illumination and all intensity gradients, revealing the inherent components that would otherwise be hidden within the overall reflected energy.

[0027] The advanced, unique methods of image processing are considered sophisticated because they take into account not only irrelevant illumination due to transmission, but also the loss of illumination energy passing through translucent materials. This advanced method refocuses on what can happen in an automatic camera when optimizing the image, taking into account all changes in settings, such as automatic adjustment of exposure time. In this process, the camera needs to obtain a calibration set of in-focus and diffused images of a field of view lacking spatial detail, and determine afterimages resulting from all changes in the camera, as well as the loss of illumination due to transmission through translucent materials.

[0028] The generation of unique videos can be achieved in real time or in a post-processing procedure. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the unique video processing first includes identifying an image set of acquired in-focus and diffused images, each set being processed separately to generate unique frames. The unique frames are then streamed or combined sequentially, as shown in Figure 16, to generate a unique video image according to the present invention, and played back at half the frame rate of the original camera. [Examples]

[0029] The following examples are presented, including (1) criteria for translucent materials, (2) analysis of specific treatments, (3) spectral contributions to conventional and specific images, and (4) differences observed between images.

[0030] Please note that all photographic images shown in the diagram were taken using the automatic camera settings of Apple's iPhone 11. [Examples]

[0031] translucent material Criteria for two translucent materials were tested, and the results are shown in Figures 6a-6b and 7a-7b. When white paper was used as the translucent material, irrelevant blue illumination remained in the intrinsic image in Figure 6b. This indicates that the 390 nm illumination did not pass through the translucent white paper, as it was removed by the intrinsic treatment. In addition, the black appearance of the tremolite mineral indicates a strong absorption of the 390 nm illumination. However, when polyethylene was used as the translucent material, the translucency criterion was met, and the mineral, emitting bright red fluorescence, appeared against a black background, indicating that the irrelevant illumination was removed by the intrinsic treatment (Figure 7b). [Examples]

[0032] Separation of spectral components of an image The spectral components of the image in Figure 9a were separated by a specific process, and a range of 1,000 pixels in row 1,900 of this image was plotted in Figure 10a.

[0033] A calibration set of the in-focus image (Figure 8a) and the diffuse image (Figure 8b) under clear skies was obtained to generate an afterimage (Figure 8c) to determine the loss of spectral components when illumination passes through a translucent material. The intensity of the afterimage across the analyzed rows was determined to be less than 2 percent. Figures 9a–9c show a set of diffuse, in-focus, and intrinsic images of fallen leaves under direct sunlight. To gain a qualitative and quantitative understanding of how the spectral components relate to each other, the intensity of pixels from row 1900 across columns 1000–2000, indicated by white lines, was plotted in Figures 10a–10b. The graph in Figure 10a shows the intensity of pixels in row 1900 of the in-focus image before and after simple and advanced intrinsic processing. The graph in Figure 10b shows the intensity of the diffuse and residual spectral components imaged through the translucent material across the pixels of this row. The intensity graph of the diffuse image represents approximately 74 percent of the intensity of each pixel across the analysis range of row 1900 of the focused image. The residual spectral component represents approximately 2 percent of the residual intensity of the clear-sky calibrated image in Figures 8a–8c. Note that in this set of images, the residual spectral component does not contribute much to the difference between the simple intrinsic image and the highly intrinsic image, as shown in the graph in Figure 10a. [Examples]

[0034] Spectrum of the reflected component A sample of yellow paper was placed diagonally in a cuvette so as to be illuminated at a 45° angle using a white LED, as shown in Figure 11a, and the reflected energy was detected at a 90° angle from the illumination. The blue spectrum represents the complete spectrum of the white LED illumination. The red spectrum represents the intrinsic spectrum reflected from the yellow paper after removing irrelevant illumination components. The UV / blue / green range portions of the intrinsic spectrum have negative values ​​indicating the absorbed component from the white LED illumination (Figure 11b). This absorption is 11 percent of the integrated illumination. The percentage of the intrinsic spectrum in the yellow / red range has a positive value, representing a component greater than the expected 11 percent of the reflected residual illumination.

[0035] If the luminescent component contributed a significant positive portion of the intrinsic spectrum, the yellow paper sample would appear to have fluorescent properties. Regarding the intrinsic spectrum, 89 percent of the illumination was not absorbed, considered irrelevant, and removed by the intrinsic processing algorithm. [Examples]

[0036] Differences observed between a normal focused image and a specific image. The focused image appears to be close to the field of view normally perceived by the eye. However, intrinsic processing produces darker images with stronger colors. This is because irrelevant illumination components are removed from the image, and only the intrinsic spectral components are reflected, as seen in the fluorescence image in Figure 12c and the intrinsic reflection images in Figures 13b–15b. These images tend to support the paint mixing analogy, where the perceived color intensity originates from a small amount of intrinsic component acting as a pigment in white-based illumination. In addition, local boundaries within the intrinsic image appear sharper than those in the focused image.

[0037] In this specification, the present invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments described above, but these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications are possible without departing from the technical spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring an intrinsic image of a field of view, free from unabsorbed, irrelevant illumination components, using an imaging device without the use of filters or dichroic mirrors, To acquire focused and diffuse images of the same field of view, By subtracting the intensity of each pixel in the diffuse image from the corresponding intensity of the pixels in the focused image, irrelevant illumination is removed from the focused image, thereby obtaining a unique image of the target field of view. Includes, The diffusion image is obtained by placing a diffusion element in the path between the target field of view and the lens of the imaging device. A method wherein the placement of the diffusion elements in the pathway is controlled manually, mechanically, or a combination thereof.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the in-focus image, the diffused image, and the unique image are still images.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the in-focus image, the diffused image, and the unique image are video images.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the removable adapter including the diffusion element is removablely positioned on the lens of the imaging device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the diffusion element is incorporated into the main body of the imaging device.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the diffusion element is part of a holding device that receives the main body of the imaging device inside.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the diffusion element is rotatably moved relative to the holding device.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein video images of the focused image and the diffused image are acquired through a synchronization element comprising at least one diffuse element and the same number of permeable apertures.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the number of diffusion elements and transmission apertures of the synchronization element is determined by the frame rate of the imaging device that acquires video images of the focused image and the diffusion image.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the movement of the synchronization element is synchronized to half the frame rate of the imaging device, and a plurality of sets of continuously alternating in-focus video images and diffused video images are acquired, each image corresponding to a sequence of video from the desired field of view.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein each set of diffused video images is subtracted from a corresponding in-focus video image to generate several unique video frames, and the several unique video frames are sequentially combined to generate a unique video image.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the unique video image is played back at a rate equal to the number of unique video frames per second.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the diffusion element includes a translucent material.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the translucent material proportionally allows all wavelengths of illumination to pass through.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the translucent material is selected such that the diffuse image has spatial features removed from the focused image.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the translucent material is selected such that the diffuse image has the same illuminance distribution with the same intensity gradient as the focused image.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the translucent material does not have fluorescent properties.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the diffusion element is provided inside the imaging device.

19. The method according to claim 8, wherein the synchronization element is provided inside the imaging device.

20. A method for acquiring an intrinsic image of a field of view, free from unabsorbed, irrelevant illumination components, without the use of filters or dichroic mirrors, To acquire calibrated focused images and calibrated diffuse images of the same field of view, lacking spatial detail, The afterimage is obtained by subtracting the intensity of each pixel in the calibration diffusion image from the corresponding intensity of the pixels in the calibration focus image. To acquire focused and diffuse images of the same field of view as the target, but different from the field of view lacking spatial detail, The intensity of each pixel in the afterimage is added to the corresponding intensity of the pixel in the diffusion image to obtain an adjusted diffusion image. By subtracting the intensity of each pixel in the adjusted diffuse image from the corresponding intensity of the pixels in the focused image, irrelevant illumination is removed from the focused image, thereby obtaining a unique image of the target field of view. A method that includes this.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the calibrated focused image, the calibrated diffused image, the afterimage, the focused image, the diffused image, and the adjusted diffused image are still images.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein the calibrated focused image, the calibrated diffused image, the focused image, the diffused image, and the adjusted diffused image are video images.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein the calibrated diffuse image and the diffuse image are obtained by arranging a diffuse element in the path between the target field of view and the lens of the imaging device.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the movement of the diffusion element in and out of the path is controlled manually, mechanically, or a combination thereof.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the removable adapter including the diffusion element is removablely positioned on the lens of the imaging device.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein the diffusion element is incorporated into the main body of the imaging device.

27. The method according to claim 23, wherein the diffusion element is part of a holding device that receives the main body of the imaging device inside.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the diffusion element is rotatably moved relative to the holding device.

29. The method according to claim 22, wherein the calibrated focused image, the calibrated diffused image, the focused image, and the diffused image are obtained through a synchronization element having at least one diffused element and the same number of transmission apertures.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the number of diffusion elements and transmission apertures of the synchronization element is determined by the frame rate of the imaging device that acquires the calibrated focused image, the calibrated diffused image, the focused image and the diffused image.

31. The method according to claim 29, wherein the movement of the synchronization element is synchronized to half the frame rate of the imaging device, and a plurality of sets of continuously alternating in-focus video images and diffused video images are acquired, each image corresponding to a sequence of video from the desired field of view.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein at least one set of continuously alternating calibrated in-focus video images and calibrated diffuse video images is acquired, and the afterimage is calculated from the at least one set.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the afterimage is the average of a plurality of afterimages calculated from a plurality of sets of continuously alternating calibrated focused video images and calibrated diffused video images.

34. The method according to claim 31, wherein the afterimages are added to the diffuse video images of each set to generate an adjusted diffuse image, and the adjusted diffuse image is subtracted from the diffuse images of the set to obtain a plurality of unique video frames of the desired field of view.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the plurality of unique video frames are sequentially combined to generate a unique video image.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the unique video image is played back at a rate equal to the number of unique video frames per second.

37. The method according to claim 23, wherein the diffusion element includes a translucent material.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the translucent material proportionally allows all wavelengths of illumination to pass through.

39. The method according to claim 37, wherein the translucent material is selected such that the calibrated diffuse image and the diffuse image have spatial features removed from the calibrated focused image and the focused image, respectively.

40. The method according to claim 37, wherein the translucent material is selected such that the calibrated diffuse image and the diffuse image have the same illuminance distribution with the same intensity gradient as the calibrated focused image and the focused image, respectively.

41. The method according to claim 37, wherein the translucent material does not have fluorescent properties.

42. The method according to claim 23, wherein the diffusion element is provided inside the imaging device.

43. The method according to claim 29, wherein the synchronization element is provided inside the imaging device.

Images