Patent · US Active

Multi-view stereo systems and methods for tube inventory in healthcare diagnostics

US9367918B2 · kind B2 · utility

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1References
18Claims
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Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 29, 2012
Grant dateJun 14, 2016
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 14, 2033

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T2207/30108
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A multi-view stereo approach generates an inventory of objects located on an object holder. An object may be a sample tube and an object holder may be a tube rack as used in lab automation for healthcare diagnostics. A processor performs 3D tracking of the object holder and the geometric analysis of multiple images generated by a calibrated camera. A homography mapping between images is utilized to warp a second image to a viewpoint of a first image. Plane induced parallax causes a normalized cross-correlation score between the first image and the warped second image of a location on the holder that has an object that is significantly different from a normalized cross-correlation score of a location that has not an object and enables the processor to infer tube inventory and absence or presence of a tube at a location in a rack.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.