SYSTEM FOR ANALYSING IMAGE DATA AND READING DEVICE
The present invention relates to a system, according to the preamble of Claim 1, for analysing image data.
The invention also relates to a method for analysing image data, an image reader, and a server in a data network.
The system and method according to the invention are used for reading image data and for analysing the purity of water, the quality of soil, and possible also for analysing blood.
Different kinds of test strips, which are used for many purposes, are known in the prior art. The test strips react to their environment with a change in colour or grey tone. Typically, the quality of the test strips has been estimated visually by comparing it, for example, with comparative material, which allows a rough estimate of the object being measured to be achieved. For example, measurement strips for acidity function in this manner. More accurate laboratory methods are known from other applications, for example, diagnostics, in which a sample strip is wetted, or exposed to the object being measured, after which the sample strip is sent to a laboratory for analysis. The method is slow and demands careful transportation of the sample piece to laboratory conditions. A greater problem is the delays between sampling and analysis. Analysis often requires special lighting.
The invention is intended to eliminate the defects of the state of the art disclosed above and for this purpose create a new type of system, method, server, and reading device for reading the image material contained on a strip, for transmission for analysis.
The invention is based on the system including a reading device equipped with a camera for a mobile station. In the reading device, there may be a light source for illuminating
the test strip with fluorescent light. With the aid of the camera contained in the mobile station or reading device, the test strip is imaged and the image data is sent as a multimedia message (MMS message) over a data network to a laboratory for analysis. The results are sent back from the laboratory to the mobile station, for example, as an SMS message.
More specifically, the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of Claim 1.
The reader device according to the invention, is, in turn, characterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of Claim 4 while the method according to the invention is, in turn, characterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of Claim 13.
The server according to the invention is, in turn, characterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of Claim 19.
Considerable advantages are gained with the aid of the invention. Using the method according to the invention, extremely complex test strips for different purposes can be used at the test location, they can be image and the test results of the strips can be sent rapidly and in a compact form to a laboratory for high-quality analysis. In home use, the equipment can be very economically priced, because it is possible to use a standards- compliant camera connected to the mobile station and, if required, a lighting device. The invention permits the test strips and, correspondingly, analysis services to be priced very flexibly. The analysis can always be priced either separately for each requirement, or can be included in the price of the test strip. In other words, part of the pricing of the tests can be transferred to the user's telephone bill.
In the following, the invention is examined on the basis of an example of an embodiment according to the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 shows one system according to the invention for implementing the invention.
According to the figure, the system includes a mobile station 1, which has functionality for sending a multimedia message. Either integrated in, or connected to the mobile station is a reading device 2, in which the test strip 3 can be placed in a predefined manner, and which includes a camera 9. The positioning of the test strip 3 can be ensured with the aid of positioning devices according to the prior art. The positioning devices can be simply guides with slotted edges, along which the test strip 3, supported by its edges, is pushed to the end of the slots for imaging. Alternatively, slider-type positioning devices can be used, in which the test strip 3 is placed in a positioning recess the size of the test strip 3 on the moving slider. After this, the slider is pushed to the imaging position.
The test strip 3 can be equipped with alignment marks, with the aid of which the alignment can be corrected using software, or the user can be guided to align the test strip correctly. The camera 2 can also include a light source, with which the test strip can be illuminated with a fluorescent light. According to the invention, normal visible light can also be used. The camera 9 is used to take an image of the test strip 3, which the mobile station 1 sends as an image message 4 over a data network to the analysis service server 5, which makes the required analysis from the received image. The result of the analysis is sent as a return message 6 to the mobile station 1, the result being displayed on its display 7. The image message 4 is typically a multimedia message (MMS message) according to existing technology. Alternatively, the GSM-data or GPRS protocols can be used.
The camera 9 is naturally equipped with optics that focus it from a close distance on the test strip 3 being imaged. Alternatively, a frame can be used to bring the test strip 3 to a suitable distance from the camera.
The properties of even a cheap camera 9 can be improved by using different levels of illumination in the imaging situation to improve the dynamics of the camera. In that
case, software can be used to combine the image information of different levels of illumination. The information of the image subject is thus picked from different image areas of these images, in which the level of illumination is optimal.
In order to minimize the transfer of data, only the most interesting objects, in terms of analysis, can be sent for processing.
The reading device 2 equipped with a camera 9 can be either integrated in the mobile station 1, or alternatively it can be attached to it by a connector. Naturally, if the reading device is equipped with its own power supply, it can also be connected to the mobile station, for example, over an infrared or Bluetooth link. In that case, the reading device can operate quite independently within the Bluetooth range (up to 10 metres). Using normal AA batteries, an operating time of several years can be achieved, provided the reading device is made such that it is activated only in the reading situation to illuminate the subject and to communicate with the mobile station.
The return message 6 can be a voice message, a text message, or a multimedia message.
Using this procedure, it is possible to make complex colour codes, or, for example, bar codes on the test strip 3, from which the system will identify the test strip being and perform an appropriate analysis on it using the server 5.
The server 5 thus makes an image analysis of the image taken of the test strip 3. The analysis can be based on grey tones, colours, shapes, or on a combination of these.
The system can also include calibration strips, which can be used to calibrate the reading device 2 by sending the server an image of the calibration strip. The server 5 identifies the calibration strip from the codes contained by it and adapts the interpretation of the grey tones or colours on the server to be correct. This procedure can be used to make compensations for small deviations from normal quality in the lenses or cell of the
camera.
The reading device can be equipped with adapters for different sizes of test strip, so that test strips of the most different sizes possible can be imaged.
Suitable areas of application for the invention are quality tests, such as pH- value definitions, of well water and watercourses, air-quality tests, soil-quality tests, and also possible diagnostic tests.
For diagnoses, the test strip 3 can be designed to react to body fluids, such as saliva, perspiration, or urine.
According to the invention, the tests can be, for example, allergy tests, or tests of a possible minor myocardial infarct.
The mobile station can be a mobile telephone, or a so-called palm computer or a portable computer with a telecommunications connection.
The software of the mobile station can be written using, for example, the Java programming language, in which case the software of the reading device can be downloaded automatically over a telecommunications network.
The apparatus can be started automatically in connection with the feeding of the strip, in which case the necessary software can be downloaded in connection with the first use.
The first use can also include the use of a calibration strip to calibrate the camera and lighting, in which case the calibration data are stored in the network for future use.
The return channel of the analysis according to the invention can be, for example, simply a text message, an MMS message, or software for retrieving data.