Image quality assessment including comparison of overlapped margins

US8396269B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Digital Pathco, LLC · US

Inventors

• David L. Henderson · Austin, US
• Kevin Bernard Kenny · Niskayuna, US
• Dirk Ryan Padfield · Niskayuna, US
• Dashan Gao · San Diego, US
• Richard R. McKay · Hickory Corner, US
• Vipul A. Baxi · Freehold, US
• Robert John Filkins · Niskayuna, US
• Michael Christopher Montalto · Albany, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 8, 2010
• Grant date: Mar 12, 2013
• Expiry date: May 26, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06V10/16
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Image quality is assessed for a digital image that is a composite of tiles or other image segments, especially focus accuracy for a microscopic pathology sample. An algorithm or combination of algorithms correlated to image quality is applied to pixel data at margins where adjacent image segments overlap and thus contain the same content in separately acquired images. The margins may be edges merged to join the image segments smoothly into a composite image, and typically occur on four sides of the image segments. The two versions of the same image content at each margin are processed by the quality algorithm, producing two assessment values. A sign and difference value are compared with other image segments, including by subsets selected for the orientation of the margins on sides on the image segments. The differences are mapped to displays. Selection criteria determine segments to be re-acquired.