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EP-4742147-A2 - METHODS AND DEVICES FOR GAMMA CORRECTION

EP4742147A2EP 4742147 A2EP4742147 A2EP 4742147A2EP-4742147-A2

Abstract

The present invention discloses a medical imaging system, comprising: an imaging device configured to generate image data comprising pixel data including a plurality of individual pixel values; and a controller configured to process the image data to generate enhanced image data for display, wherein the controller is configured to: calculate, for each individual pixel value, a magnitude of the pixel value; and apply a gain function to the individual pixel value, wherein the gain function is a function of the calculated magnitude for that pixel value.

Inventors

  • FETTINGER, Nathan S.
  • PROTAS, Matthew
  • DINGMAN, Phillip C.
  • ZAPPIA, Thomas, M., Jr.
  • CHEN, Longquan

Assignees

  • Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210803

Claims (14)

  1. A medical imaging system (10), comprising: an imaging device (40) configured to generate image data comprising pixel data including a plurality of individual pixel values; and a controller (50) configured to process the image data to generate enhanced image data for display, wherein the controller (50) is configured to: calculate, for each individual pixel value, a magnitude of the pixel value; and apply a gain function to the individual pixel value, wherein the gain function is a function of the calculated magnitude for that pixel value.
  2. The medical imaging system (10) according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude is based on color and/or brightness of each pixel value.
  3. The medical imaging system (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the controller (50) is configured to adjust the gain function to reduce amplification applied to pixel values associated with over-illuminated regions, such as hotspots (430), of the image data.
  4. The medical imaging system (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the controller (50) is configured to adjust the gain function to increase amplification applied to pixel values associated with under-illuminated regions, such as darker areas, of the image data.
  5. The medical imaging system (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the adaptive adjustment of the gain function is performed on a frame-by-frame basis.
  6. The medical imaging system (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the controller (50) is configured to modify at least one parameter of the gain function selected from: a slope of the gain function, a breakpoint of the gain function, or a maximum gain limit.
  7. The medical imaging system (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the adaptive adjustment of the gain function is performed independently of an illumination level of a light source associated with the imaging device (40).
  8. The medical imaging system (10) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a display (60), wherein the controller (50) is configured to output the enhanced image data to the display (60) within latency requirements of the medical imaging system (10).
  9. A method (300) of processing image data generated by a medical imaging device (10), the method comprising: receiving image data comprising image data including a plurality of individual pixel values; calculate, for each individual pixel value, a magnitude of the pixel value; and apply a gain function to the individual pixel value, wherein the gain function is a function of the calculated magnitude for that pixel value.
  10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the magnitude is calculated based on color and/or brightness of each pixel value.
  11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein applying the gain function comprises modifying the gain function in response to changes in the pixelwise magnitude between successive image frames.
  12. The method according to any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the gain function is adjusted to decrease the brightness of hotspots (430) of the image data.
  13. The method according to any of claims 9-12, wherein the gain function is adjusted to increase the brightness of darker regions of the image data.
  14. The method according to any of claims 9 to 13, wherein the enhanced image data is generated without modifying illumination provided by the imaging device (40).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/060,885, filed on August 4, 2020, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to medical devices and methods of use. More particularly, in some embodiments, the disclosure relates to endoscopic imaging tools and methods related to enhancing images generated by an imaging device associated with the endoscope. BACKGROUND Medical tools, such as scopes or catheters, may include an associated imaging device, for example cameras or cameras associated with the medical scopes, for imaging body tissue. Drawbacks of scopes using such imaging devices include, for example, intensity gradients created when target objects vary in distance with the body and/or shadows created by objects blocking light to other structures within the body. There exist light controls for adjusting the light output globally from a light source, e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), to the target area. However, changing the amount of light from the light source may increase hotspots if the light output is increased, or increase shadows if the light output is decreased. Thus, there is a need to adjust for localized regions of an image to improve the overall visibility of the entire image. The disclosure may solve one or more of these problems or other problems in the art. The scope of the disclosure, however, is defined by the attached claims and not the ability to solve a specific problem. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE According to an aspect, a medical system includes a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, an imaging device at the distal end of the shaft, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive image data comprising pixel data from the imaging device, the pixel data including a plurality of individual pixel values, convert the pixel data from a RGB format to a YCbCr format, and form adjusted pixel data by applying a gain to the pixel data, wherein the gain is based on a Y value, a Cb value, and a Cr value of the individual pixel values of the converted pixel data. The controller may be further configured to calculate a magnitude (e.g., an intensity) for each pixel value, wherein the magnitude for each pixel value may be equal to √(Y2 + Cb2 + Cr2), and wherein the gain for an individual pixel component is a function of the magnitudes of all components. The gain may include a first gain and a second gain, and the first gain may be applied to the Y value, and the second gain may be applied to both the Cb value and the Cr value of a corresponding pixel value. The medical system may further include a memory, wherein the memory may include a look up table (LUT) for each of a luminance value and a chroma value. The controller may be further configured to convert the adjusted pixel data from the YCbCr format to the RGB format. The medical system may further include a display, and wherein the controller may be further configured to generate an image based on the adjusted and converted pixel data. The medical system may further include a light emitting device at the distal end of the shaft. The medical system may further include a user input device configured to receive at least one user input for controlling the medical system. The controller may include a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The medical system may further include a handle, wherein the controller may be disposed on or in the handle. According to an aspect, a method of controlling an imaging device for a medical system includes receiving an image comprising pixel data from an imaging device of the medical system, the pixel data including a plurality of individual pixel values, converting the pixel data from a RGB format to a second multi-channel color format, the second multi-channel color format having a brightness value and a color value, and calculating a magnitude for each pixel value, wherein the gain magnitude is based on the brightness value and the color value of each respective pixel, applying the gain magnitude to adjust the corresponding brightness or the corresponding color for each pixel, and converting each of the plurality of pixels from the second multi-channel color format to the RGB format. The method may further include applying a different gain to the brightness value than the color value of a corresponding pixel value. The method may further include generating an image on a display of the medical system based on the adjusted and converted pixel data. The method may further include applying the gain to each pixel value includes matching the magnitude with a corresponding value in a brightness look up table (LUT) for a corresponding brightness value, and matching the gain magnitude with a corresponding value in a color LUT for a corresponding color value. The gain magnitude may be applied to each of the brightness and the color values for th