Design and Development of New Systems for Medical and Endoscopic Imaging Applications

该申请旨在为医疗和内窥镜成像应用开发新的图像和视频处理算法以及低成本数字系统。一个关键领域是无线胶囊内窥镜，患者吞下电子胶囊，集成成像和传输功能，通过小肠，捕获和发送用于诊断胃肠道疾病的图像。商业产品的常见局限性是图像质量和帧速率低，肠道特征的可见性差，工作时间短，导致诊断不准确和不完整。该研究通过探索新的图像压缩算法和低成本架构来解决这些局限性，从而显著提高图像质量和超低功耗，有助于延长电池寿命。它还使用新兴的窄带照明技术，有助于提高肠道诊断重要特征的可见性;因此，可以进行更准确的诊断，并可以检查更多的肠道区域。这款新一代内窥镜系统采用先进的自动化算法，可检测和分类内窥镜图像中的异常，帮助医生快速识别可疑区域，实现快速诊断。此外，没有用于马和狗等大型动物的内窥镜胶囊。该研究将探索新技术，开发用于兽医内窥镜检查的无线胶囊。 研究的另一个重点是探索新的压缩传感技术，以使用更少的输入样本有效地重建MRI，基于同步加速器的CT和micro-CT图像。该结果将缩短扫描时间并减少对患者的辐射剂量，这将潜在地改善医疗诊断的实践。因此，拟议的计划促进了跨学科的互动，并具有巨大的行业合作潜力。研究成果将显著提高许多健康相关应用的效率和准确性，增强加拿大在医疗和内窥镜成像产品中的作用。

The application proposes to develop new image and video processing algorithms and low-cost digital systems for medical and endoscopic imaging applications. A key area is the wireless capsule endoscopy where a patient swallows an electronic capsule, integrated with imaging and transmission capabilities, which travels through small intestine, captures and sends images that are used for diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases. Common limitations of commercial products are low image quality and frame rate, poor visibility of intestinal features, and low working time that lead to inaccurate and incomplete diagnosis. The research addresses the limitations by exploring novel image compression algorithms and low-cost architectures that result in significant improvement of image quality and ultra-low power consumption that helps extend the battery life. It also uses emerging narrow-band lighting techniques that help improve the visibility of diagnostically important features of the intestine; as a result, more accurate diagnosis is possible and more intestinal area can be examined. This next-generation endoscopic system features advanced automated algorithms to detect and classify abnormalities in endoscopic images that will help physicians identify suspected areas quickly and enables speedy diagnosis. Besides, there is no endoscopic capsule for large animals such as horse and dog. The research will explore new technologies to develop wireless capsules for veterinary endoscopy. Another key focus of the research is to explore new compressed sensing techniques to efficiently reconstruct MRI, Synchrotron-based CT and micro-CT images using fewer input samples. The outcome will shorten scan time and reduce radiation dose to patient, which will potentially improve the practice of medical diagnosis. Thus, the proposed program facilitates interdisciplinary interaction and has huge potential for industry collaboration. The outcome of the research will significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of many health related applications, enhancing Canada's role in medical and endoscopic imaging products.