Ophthalmic Image Color-Space Mapping for Selective Contrast Enhancement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current imaging technologies for ophthalmic procedures often fail to provide sufficient visibility or contrast, especially for small and delicate structures like the eye, leading to challenges during surgeries, as increasing contrast in one area can result in decreased contrast in other parts of the image.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a visualization module with a controller to convert images from a first color space to a second color space, allowing for selective visual enhancement of specific zones within the eye without affecting other areas, using techniques like chromatic adaptation and digital staining to improve contrast and visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional imaging is used to capture the eye, then the image can be obtained, but the visibility and contrast are insufficient for small and delicate structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the image from a first color space to a second color space, allowing selective modification of color parameters (hue, saturation, brightness) for specific zones. This parameter transformation enhances the visibility and contrast of delicate structures like blood vessels and retina without requiring physical intervention, directly resolving the insufficiency of conventional imaging for visualizing small eye structures.
2Measurement precision
If contrast is increased in one portion of the image, then visibility of that area is improved, but contrast in other parts of the image decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality enhancement by selecting specific zones in the color space and applying contrast enhancement only to those regions. The system identifies target structures (e.g., blood vessels, retina) and enhances their contrast independently, while preserving the original contrast characteristics in other areas of the image. This selective local enhancement eliminates the trade-off between improving one area's visibility and degrading others.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a color space transformation dimension, mapping image data from a first color space to a second color space. This dimensional transformation allows the system to operate in an extended parameter space where contrast enhancement can be applied selectively to specific color ranges or zones without affecting other areas, effectively adding a new degree of freedom to the image processing problem.
3Measurement precision
If dyes are used to enhance visualization of eye structures, then contrast is improved, but exposure to potentially toxic substances increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/chemical approach of using physical dyes with a digital/image processing approach. By transforming color space and applying selective enhancement algorithms, the system achieves contrast improvement purely through computational means, eliminating the need for toxic substances while maintaining enhanced visibility of eye structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an enhanced copy or representation of the original image through color space transformation and selective zone enhancement. This digital copy provides improved contrast and visibility without requiring physical interaction with the patient's eye, replacing the need for dye administration with a non-invasive computational method.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for visually enhancing an original image of an eye includes a visualization module. A controller is configured to convert an output of the visualization module to a first pixel cloud in a first color space and map the first pixel cloud to a second pixel cloud in a second color space. The method includes identifying at least one selected zone in the second color space. The controller is configured to move the selected zone from an original location to a modified location in the second color space. The second pixel cloud is updated to obtain a modified second pixel cloud, which is transformed into a third pixel cloud in the first color space. An enhanced image is formed based in part on the modified second pixel cloud and provides selective visual enhancement in the selected zone without affecting contrast in a remainder of the original image.