Smartphone Reagent Testing with Colorimetric Illumination Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smartphones lack uniformity in image capture capabilities, making them unsuitable for regulatory-approved medical testing due to variations in camera settings and illumination conditions, and non-medical professionals may struggle to follow strict operation procedures.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a colorized surface with reference elements to correct for local illumination and image capturing settings, allowing mobile communications devices to analyze images of reagent pads or tissue features, determining chemical reactions or tissue conditions independently of these factors, and providing data on the extent of reactions or conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If smartphones are used for medical testing, then accessibility and ease of operation are improved, but image capture uniformity and measurement precision deteriorate due to variations in camera settings and illumination conditions
Solution Approach 1:
A colorimetric reference standard (color board with known color values) is introduced as an intermediary element between the smartphone camera and the test sample. This reference standard serves as a mediator that captures illumination and camera settings effects, enabling computational correction of these effects from the test sample images while maintaining smartphone accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter space by capturing images under varying illumination conditions and camera settings, then uses computational methods to identify and remove the effects of these parameter variations. By analyzing how the reference standard's known colors change under different conditions, the system can compensate for these changes in the test sample images.
2Reliability
If dedicated hardware scanners with controlled illumination are used, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical control system (dedicated hardware scanners with controlled illumination) with a computational approach. Instead of physically controlling illumination and camera settings, the system uses image processing algorithms that analyze reference standards and compensate for environmental variations, substituting computational complexity for mechanical complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system makes the smartphone camera universal by enabling it to perform medical testing functions despite its design for general-purpose photography. By incorporating computational correction methods that work across different smartphone models and lighting conditions, the system allows a single device type to reliably perform medical measurements without requiring dedicated hardware.
3Measurement precision
If strict operation procedures are enforced, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates as non-medical professionals struggle to follow procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by having the smartphone application automatically guide users through the testing process and perform computational corrections without requiring manual calibration or expert knowledge. The reference standard and algorithms work together to automatically compensate for user errors and environmental variations, making the system self-correcting and easy to use for non-professionals.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the colorimetric reference standard captured in each image to automatically adjust and correct measurement results. By continuously comparing the reference standard's actual appearance against its known values, the system provides real-time feedback about illumination and camera settings effects, then compensates for these effects in the test sample analysis without user intervention.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate medical testing results across varying lighting conditions and image capture settings, ensuring consistency and reliability in medical analysis, even with non-uniform smartphone cameras, and simplifies the testing process for non-medical professionals.
Implementation Method 1
A system that uses a colorized surface with reference elements to correct for local illumination and image capturing settings
Implementation Method 2
receiving from an image sensor associated with a mobile communications device an image of a reagent pad in proximity to a colorized surface
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for testing visible chemical reactions of a reagent are provided. In one implementation, the method may include receiving from an image sensor associated with a mobile communications device an image of a reagent with a plurality of colored test reagent pads in proximity to a colorized surface having a plurality of colored reference elements of differing shades. The method further includes using the differing shades of the plurality of colored reference elements to determine local illumination conditions. Thereafter, the method includes using the determined local illumination conditions and an analysis of a depiction of the plurality of colored test reagent pads in the image to determine an extent of a chemical reaction on the reagent. Then the method includes causing the mobile communications device to provide to the user an indication that the testing of the reagent is complete.