Process for the digitization and display of thermographic records

Patent 4445516 Issued on May 1, 1984. Estimated Expiration Date:

December 18, 2001. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

3699813

Method of and apparatus for making medical thermographs
Patent #: 3970074
Issued on: 07/20/1976
Inventor: Mogos , et al.

Thermographic apparatus for physical examination of patients
Patent #: 4186748
Issued on: 02/05/1980
Inventor: Schlager

Thermographic areameter
Patent #: 4218707
Issued on: 08/19/1980
Inventor: Reed , et al.

Procedure for noncontacting measurement of subcutaneous temperature distributions Patent #: 4275741
Issued on: 06/30/1981
Inventor: Edrich

Inventors

Assignee

Carl Zeiss-Stiftung

Application

No. 06/336397 filed on 12/18/1981

US Classes:

600/549Temperature detection

Examiners

Primary: Cohen, Lee S.
Assistant: Sykes, Angela D.

International Classes

A61B 5/00 (20060101)
G06F 19/00 (20060101)

Foreign Application Priority Data

1980-05-29 DE

Abstract

A method for digitizing and displaying thermographic records of biological or technical structures which makes it possible to recognize abnormal temperature distributions even if they are very small or the corresponding regions differ only very slightly in their temperature value from the adjacent temperature values. In this method, the temperature values at each image point of a thermogram are digitized and the slope of the local change in temperature, i.e. the temperature gradient, is calculated for each image point on basis of its temperature and the measured temperature values of its neighboring points. For a selected image region the local distribution of the temperature gradients is displayed. Abnormal temperature distributions can be recognized from this display at places where large temperature gradients are present.The method is particularly advantageous for use in the field of medicine and serves there for the detection of carcinomas and particularly breast cancer.