Elapsed-Time Determination via Melanophore Image Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining the elapsed time since a fish's death either damage the fish or rely on subjective assessments, such as the boundary position between the pupil and the white, which can be inconsistent across different fish types.
Innovation Solution
An elapsed-time determination apparatus that analyzes images of a fish's melanophores to determine the time elapsed since death, using correlation information to identify changes in melanophore state, such as area or complexity, without physically harming the fish or relying on the pupil-white boundary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the K value method is used to determine freshness by measuring chemical substances, then measurement precision is improved, but the fish is damaged during the measurement process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses image copying technology to capture photographs of the fish's eye region and creates digital copies for analysis. Instead of physically extracting and measuring chemical substances from the fish flesh, the system creates a visual copy (image) of the fish's eye and analyzes the pupil-white boundary position in this copy, thereby obtaining freshness information without damaging the original fish.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/chemical measurement system (extracting flesh, measuring chemical substances) with an optical system (imaging device capturing photos). The analysis shifts from physical chemical analysis to optical image analysis, specifically examining the boundary position between the pupil and white portions in the captured image, thus eliminating the need to physically harm the fish.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the boundary position between pupil and white is used for freshness judgment, then non-destructive measurement is achieved, but reliability is reduced due to fish type variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from a simple binary boundary position to a multi-dimensional parameter set including distance measurements, area ratios, and positional relationships between the pupil-white boundary and reference points. By using multiple parameters instead of a single boundary position, the system compensates for variations across different fish types and improves judgment reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent develops a universal measurement system that can handle multiple fish types by establishing reference points and measurement methods that work across different species. The system uses the eye structure as a universal reference that exists in all fish, and defines measurement parameters (distances, ratios) that can be consistently applied regardless of fish type, making the method universally applicable while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An elapsed-time determination apparatus includes: a storage unit that stores correlation information indicating a correlation between a state of a melanophore of a fish and an amount of time elapsed since the death of the fish; an acquisition unit that acquires an image of a fish; an analysis unit that detects a state of a melanophore of a fish by analyzing an image acquired by the acquisition unit; and a determination unit that determines the amount of time elapsed since the death of the fish in accordance with the state of the melanophore of the fish detected by the analysis unit, based on the correlation information, and outputs determination results.