Colour Image Blood Vessel Enhancement With Red-Spectrum Ratios

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods struggle to accurately enhance the visibility of blood vessels in color images captured by medical devices, leading to difficulties in precise analysis of vascular structures, and may alter image colors, making it harder to identify pathological conditions.

Innovation Solution

A method involving processing data from multiple color channels to determine a parameter indicative of the intensity in the red spectrum relative to the total intensity of a pixel, allowing for precise enhancement of blood vessel visibility while maintaining natural image colors, using a medical device with an image processing unit to alter pixels based on this parameter.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If an additional light source emitting narrow wavelength light is provided to improve blood vessel visibility, then blood vessel visibility is improved, but the cost of the medical device increases and image colors change making navigation and examination more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveblood vessel visibilityVSAvoiddevice cost and image color accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameter of light wavelength from narrow (single wavelength) to broad spectrum (white light containing multiple wavelengths), eliminating the need for additional specialized light sources while maintaining blood vessel visibility enhancement through computational processing of multi-wavelength image data

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical/optical approach (additional physical light source) with a computational approach (processing RGB channel data to calculate red spectrum intensity parameter), substituting hardware complexity with software-based image processing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Device complexity

If binary values are used to determine blood vessel locations, then processing is simplified, but precision in determining blood vessel locations decreases leading to inaccurate enhancement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing simplicityVSAvoidblood vessel location accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by using only the red spectrum intensity parameter (first parameter) for enhancement decisions rather than processing all RGB channels equally, achieving selective enhancement with reduced computational complexity while maintaining precision through targeted parameter analysis

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUSRE50608E1Enhancing the visibility of blood vessels in colour images

Publication Date: 2025.09.30 AMBU AS

AI summary

A method of enhancing the visibility of blood vessels in a colour image captured by an image capturing device of a medical device, the colour image having a plurality of colour channels and a plurality of pixels, the method including for at least some of said plurality of pixels the steps of: (a) processing data obtained from a first colour channel together with data obtained from a second colour channel to determine a value of a first parameter indicative of the intensity in the red spectrum relative to the total intensity of said pixel; and (b) using said value of said first parameter to alter said pixel, wherein said first parameter has at least three possible values, and wherein the strength of the alteration is dependent on the value of said first parameter.