Body Inspection Image Processing for Privacy and Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current human body security check systems face challenges in detecting irregularly shaped and low-contrast contrabands, such as swallowed drugs or explosives, while maintaining privacy protection, as existing image processing technologies often obscure these items and reduce detection reliability.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus that utilize pattern recognition to identify and perform privacy protection processing on specific regions like the head and crotch parts in body inspection images, allowing for effective privacy protection without impairing contraband detection, by segmenting images into foreground and background portions and applying tailored processing techniques.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional image processing technology is used to blur anatomic details of the body, then privacy protection is improved, but the capability of detecting contrabands is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontraband detection capabilityVSAvoidanatomic details
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The image is divided into multiple regions of interest (head, crotch, trunk) and other regions. Different processing strategies are applied: privacy protection processing on sensitive regions and detail preservation processing on other regions, thereby resolving the contradiction between privacy protection and contraband detection capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different image processing qualities are applied to different regions of the image. Sensitive regions receive stronger privacy protection processing while other regions maintain higher image quality for contraband detection, achieving local optimization of both privacy protection and detection capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If edge enhancement and filtering are applied to the whole image, then privacy protection is improved, but the detection of thin, small-sized and light-weighted suspicious objects becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontraband detection capabilityVSAvoidimage processing precision
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The image is segmented into regions requiring privacy protection and regions requiring high detection precision. By applying different processing intensities to different segments, the system maintains high precision for small object detection while achieving privacy protection where needed

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The processing precision is locally adjusted based on region importance. Critical regions maintain high processing precision for detecting thin and small objects, while less critical regions receive stronger privacy protection processing

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If body details are smoothed to protect privacy, then privacy protection is improved, but the image effect degrades with respect to contraband detection

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontraband detection capabilityVSAvoidimage details
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The image is divided into sensitive regions requiring smoothing and non-sensitive regions requiring detail preservation. This segmentation allows privacy protection through smoothing without degrading the overall image effect for contraband detection

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different smoothing levels are applied locally: strong smoothing in sensitive regions for privacy protection and minimal or no smoothing in other regions to preserve image quality and detection effectiveness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2485041B1Method for processing body inspection image and body inspection device
Publication Date: 2014.11.19 NUCTECH CO LTD
  • EP2485041B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1B
  • EP2485041B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2485041B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method of processing a body inspection image and a body inspection apparatus are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method may comprise recognizing a target region by means of pattern recognition, and performing privacy protection processing on the recognized target region. The target region may comprise a head and/or crotch part. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve a compromise between privacy protection and body inspection.