health

Imprivata, a company that provides secure login and authentication systems, has announced a new product that locks a workstation when a user walks away and automatically re-authenticates the user when he or she returns. The product, called OneSign Secure Walk-Away, uses computer vision to identify users and determine their presence.

Badri Roysam and Andrew Cohen at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have developed a computer vision system that can predict with 99% accuracy whether stem cells will divide into self-renewing cells or terminal cells. The predictions, which are based on measuring cell movements, are made in real-time, so that the fate of the cells is known before they divide. The system can also predict characteristics of the specialized cells that result.

VTT, a contract research organization in Finland, has developed a fast method of image analysis to detect Alzheimer's disease in MR brain scans. Previous MR image assessment methods took from 15 minutes to several hours; the new method takes three minutes. The segmentation method, which uses expectation maximization (E-M) and graph cuts, automatically calculates the volume of the Hippocampus. More information is available in a press release and a Neuroimage article.

Seeing Machines Limited, maker of eye and face tracking systems, has released a new product. The TrueField Analyzer (TFA) measures pupillary response to diagnose glaucoma via a non-contact test.

SIMI Reality Motion Systems GmbH of Munich, Germany, has developed motion capture software for orthopedic diagnosis. The software analyzes video data to generate information about joint angles, accelerations, torque and stress. Doctors can then use the information to evaluate the patient’s musculoskeletal performance and offer a tailored treatment.

Canadian startup company Claron Technology announced the availability of its computer vision based software platform, the Withinsight Framework (WIF). WIF is a collection of software components for rapid construction of medical image analysis and visualization applications. The Withinsight framework can be used to build both standalone applications and client-server applications.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, led by Dr. Dan Fletcher, have developed a microscope prototype that is mounted on a camera phone. The prototype, named CellScope, has enough magnification for clinical level diagnostics of blood and saliva. It is intended for use in underdeveloped countries or rural locations where clinical microscopy laboratories are not available. More information is available in a press release and the project website.

Dr. Piotr Slomka at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has developed a technique to provide clear high-definition positron-emission tomography (HD-PET) images of the beating heart that are free from cardiac motion. The image processing technique tracks the motion of the heart's "left ventricle endo- and epicardial borders" during systolic and diastolic cycles.

According to a news article, results of the use of this technique were presented at the 2009 Society of Nuclear Medicine Annual Meeting.

Researchers from the University of the West of England (UWE) have developed a camera-based system to monitor young children with respiratory problems. The system, named dynamic photometric stereo, uses a camera and structured light to track the breathing movements of the child’s chest and abdomen.

According to a press release, the system is less intrusive than traditional methods that include the use of bands strapped on the body.

Dr. Joseph Haik, a plastic surgeon and burn specialist at Tel Aviv University, Israel, is prescribing the Sony PlayStation EyeToy to his patients as part of burn recovery treatments. The camera-based games use computer vision algorithms to recognize gestures and control elements in the games. In his report to the American Burn Association, he noted that the games can help patients adjust to their condition because they are able to see themselves with their new appearance in the game.