Endoscopic Image Masking via Contour Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Endoscopic images often have active image areas smaller than the total pixels, leading to unnecessary computational resource burden when transmitting, visualizing, storing, and processing the entire image, including inactive areas.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for masking endoscopic images by applying a mask to the image based on the estimated circular area enclosing the largest detected contour, thereby retaining only the active image areas.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the entire endoscopic image including inactive areas is transmitted, stored, and processed, then complete image data is available, but computational resource burden increases unnecessarily

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage data completenessVSAvoidcomputational resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and processes only the active image area from the complete endoscopic image. By identifying the active region boundaries and separating it from inactive areas, the system processes only necessary image data, reducing computational resource consumption while maintaining reliability for surgical applications

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the endoscopic image into active and inactive areas based on detected boundaries. This segmentation allows the system to apply different processing strategies to different regions, focusing computational resources on the clinically relevant active area while excluding inactive portions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Loss of information

If the entire endoscopic image including inactive areas is transmitted and stored, then no data is lost, but transmission and storage efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage information retentionVSAvoidtransmission and storage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the active image area containing clinically relevant information for transmission and storage. By removing inactive areas that contain no useful surgical information, the system improves transmission and storage efficiency without causing loss of important medical data

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different quality requirements to different image regions. The active area receives full processing and retention to ensure no diagnostic information is lost, while inactive areas are excluded from processing, optimization, and storage to improve overall system efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS12302027B2Systems and methods for masking endoscopic images

Publication Date: 2025.05.13 STRYKER CORP

AI summary

Systems, methods, and computer readable storage medium techniques for masking endoscopic images are disclosed. A system receives an input digital image and applies one or more denoising algorithms and one or more contour detection algorithms to detect a plurality of contours in the image. A contour having the largest area is identified. A smallest circular area enclosing the largest area contour is estimated, and a mask is applied to the image based on the circular area to generate a masked image.