 |
|
Portable imaging system will help maximize public health response to natural disasters
October 07, 2008Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a low-cost, high-resolution imaging system that can be attached to a helicopter to create a complete and detailed picture of an area devastated by a hurricane or other natural disaster. The resulting visual information can be used to estimate the number of storm refugees and assess the need for health and humanitarian services.
Aid organizations currently don't have a quick and accurate way to determine how many people need assistance. Satellites can collect images of areas affected by a natural disaster, but there are dissemination restrictions and cloud cover can prevent collection of images.
"Without a real-time map, it's very hard to do population estimates and demographic estimates to figure out where people are, how they're moving, how they're spaced out and even how many people you have on the ground," said Benjamin Sklaver, a project officer from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch. "This technology does not exist currently, so GTRI's imaging system is really an innovative project."
The imaging system was developed with funding from the CDC, and agency officials would like to begin using this device as soon as possible. After responding to the recent devastation caused by Hurricanes Hanna and Ike, the CDC asked GTRI to accelerate delivery of the imaging device for use during the 2008 hurricane season.
"We plan to package the system for use on Coast Guard UH-60J Black Hawk helicopters, which were among the first to fly over Haiti following Hanna's devastation," said David Price, a GTRI senior research technologist.
The imaging system - designed by Price and senior research engineer Gary Gray - is called the "Mini ModPOD," which stands for "Miniature Modular Photographic Observation Device." It consists of an off-the-shelf Canon Digital Rebel XTi digital camera, a global positioning system receiver, a small circuit board that uploads mission parameters, and an inertial measurement unit that measures the aircraft's rate of acceleration and changes in rotational attributes, including pitch, roll and yaw. The images collected from the system can be stitched together to create a complete picture of the affected area.
The research team has tested the device on several flights, selecting areas with large populations of people likely to be outdoors.
"During the first test flight, we wanted to test the clarity and resolution of the images collected during the run, and we were very pleased," said Price. "We could see tennis balls on the ground and people reading books at outdoor tables. This was sufficient detail to allow accurate counting the number of people in an area."
After the first flight, the researchers reduced the weight of the device and developed a more accurate geo-referencing capability, which allowed the physical location of the scenes shown in each photograph to be determined with precision. With the modifications made, the researchers went for a second flight test in July.
Mosaic image shown here is made of individual photographs collected from the Mini ModPOD system and stitched together to create a more complete picture of the ground below.
Click here for more information.
The research group selected a rectangular zone of interest and loaded the latitude and longitude coordinates of the zone into the system from a USB drive. As soon as the helicopter flew into the zone, the camera began snapping pictures. The electronics were set to measure the speed of the aircraft so that each photo overlapped 60 percent of the preceding photo, making it easier to stitch together the photos to create a complete picture. The pilot made two passes, at altitudes of 500 and 1,000 feet above ground level.
"This test flight was successful in confirming the Mini ModPOD's ability to activate the camera within the zone of interest. The resulting photos were extremely sharp and clear - they were free of any vibration or motion effects," added Price.
The photos were successfully matched to the flight data, which enabled the CDC to adjust them for geospatial reference. However, due to a software glitch, they were not overlapped as planned. The researchers made a small adjustment to the software and completed a third a third test flight in August.
"This flight resulted in images that were 60 percent overlapped, enabling CDC engineers to build a high-resolution mosaic image," noted Price. "Individuals on the ground were easily distinguishable as people separate from other objects."
The imaging system will also be available to the CDC and other agencies, such as the American Red Cross, to count people in refugee camps in order to plan for health and humanitarian services.
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
The imaging system was developed with funding from the CDC, and agency officials would like to begin using this device as soon as possible. After responding to the recent devastation caused by Hurricanes Hanna and Ike, the CDC asked GTRI to accelerate delivery of the imaging device for use during the 2008 hurricane season.
"We plan to package the system for use on Coast Guard UH-60J Black Hawk helicopters, which were among the first to fly over Haiti following Hanna's devastation," said David Price, a GTRI senior research technologist.
The imaging system - designed by Price and senior research engineer Gary Gray - is called the "Mini ModPOD," which stands for "Miniature Modular Photographic Observation Device." It consists of an off-the-shelf Canon Digital Rebel XTi digital camera, a global positioning system receiver, a small circuit board that uploads mission parameters, and an inertial measurement unit that measures the aircraft's rate of acceleration and changes in rotational attributes, including pitch, roll and yaw. The images collected from the system can be stitched together to create a complete picture of the affected area.
The research team has tested the device on several flights, selecting areas with large populations of people likely to be outdoors.
"During the first test flight, we wanted to test the clarity and resolution of the images collected during the run, and we were very pleased," said Price. "We could see tennis balls on the ground and people reading books at outdoor tables. This was sufficient detail to allow accurate counting the number of people in an area."
After the first flight, the researchers reduced the weight of the device and developed a more accurate geo-referencing capability, which allowed the physical location of the scenes shown in each photograph to be determined with precision. With the modifications made, the researchers went for a second flight test in July.
Mosaic image shown here is made of individual photographs collected from the Mini ModPOD system and stitched together to create a more complete picture of the ground below.
Click here for more information.
The research group selected a rectangular zone of interest and loaded the latitude and longitude coordinates of the zone into the system from a USB drive. As soon as the helicopter flew into the zone, the camera began snapping pictures. The electronics were set to measure the speed of the aircraft so that each photo overlapped 60 percent of the preceding photo, making it easier to stitch together the photos to create a complete picture. The pilot made two passes, at altitudes of 500 and 1,000 feet above ground level.
"This test flight was successful in confirming the Mini ModPOD's ability to activate the camera within the zone of interest. The resulting photos were extremely sharp and clear - they were free of any vibration or motion effects," added Price.
The photos were successfully matched to the flight data, which enabled the CDC to adjust them for geospatial reference. However, due to a software glitch, they were not overlapped as planned. The researchers made a small adjustment to the software and completed a third a third test flight in August.
"This flight resulted in images that were 60 percent overlapped, enabling CDC engineers to build a high-resolution mosaic image," noted Price. "Individuals on the ground were easily distinguishable as people separate from other objects."
The imaging system will also be available to the CDC and other agencies, such as the American Red Cross, to count people in refugee camps in order to plan for health and humanitarian services.
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Imaging System Current Events and Imaging System News RSSBeyond sunlight: Explorers census 17,650 ocean species between edge of darkness and black abyss
Census of Marine Life scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight - creatures that somehow manage a living in a frigid black world down to 5,000 meters (~3 miles) below the ocean waves.
VERITAS telescopes help solve 100-year-old mystery: The origin of cosmic rays
Nearly 100 years ago, scientists detected the first signs of cosmic rays - subatomic particles (mostly protons) that zip through space at nearly the speed of light.
Iowa State researchers contribute to discovery of gamma rays from starburst galaxy
Iowa State University astrophysicists contributed to the recent discovery that a galaxy quickly creating new stars is also a source of high energy gamma rays.
Researchers develop innovative imaging system to study sudden cardiac arrest
A research team at Vanderbilt University has developed an innovative optical system to simultaneously image electrical activity and metabolic properties in the same region of a heart, to study the complex mechanisms that lead to sudden cardiac arrest.
Concurrent imaging of metabolic and electric signals in the heart
Cardiac rhythm disorders can result from disturbances in cardiac metabolism. These metabolic changes are tightly linked with specific cardiac electrophysiology (CEP) abnormalities, such as depressed excitability, impaired intra- and extracellular conductivities, wave propagation block, and alteration of conduction velocity, action potential amplitude, and duration.
Bioluminescence imaging used for eye cancer detection
At the moment, doctors rely on biopsy analysis to determine the progression of eye cancer. However, researchers now believe that a new technology, bioluminescence imaging (BLI), will allow doctors to detect tumors earlier and quickly choose a method of treatment that doesn't necessarily involve eye surgery.
Getting down to details
Dave Wilson was dissatisfied with blurry, low-sensitivity optical images of diseased tissues. So, four years ago he set out to create a better imager.
Radiologists and engineers develop a modified catheter to reduce contrast material injuries
Though rare, IV contrast material administration can sometimes result in patient injury. However researchers have developed a modified catheter that may prevent such events from occurring.
Annual Survey Shows High Numbers of Seed Scallops on Georges Bank, Low Numbers in Mid-Atlantic
A NOAA Fisheries scallop survey off the northeastern coast between North Carolina and Massachusetts shows high numbers of juvenile "recruit" sea scallops and ocean quahogs on Georges Bank tempered with weak numbers for seed scallops in the Mid-Atlantic for 2009.
Jet-propelled Imaging for an Ultrafast Light Source
John Spence, a physicist at Arizona State University, is a longtime user of the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he has contributed to major advances in lensless imaging.
More Imaging System Current Events and Imaging System News Articles
 |
Medical Imaging Signals and Systems by Jerry L. Prince (Author), Jonathan Links (Author) For courses in medical imaging systems. With signal processing as its foundation, this text covers the most important imaging modalities in radiology: projection radiography, x-ray computed tomography, nuclear medicine, ultrasound imaging, and magnetic resonance imaging. Organized into parts to emphasize key overall conceptual divisions, Medical Imaging is most appropriate for engineering students who have taken the prerequisite signals and systems courses as well as elementary probability. |
|
International Journal of Signal and Imaging Systems Engineer by Inderscience Enterprises Ltd | |
 |
Tele Vue 10 Micron Indicator Kit for Tele Vue TV-60 Imaging System by Tele Vue |
 |
Imaging Systems for Medical Diagnostics: Fundamentals, Technical Solutions and Applications for Systems Applying Ionizing Radiation, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Ultrasound by Arnulf Oppelt (Editor) The book provides a comprehensive compilation of fundamentals, technical solutions and applications for medical imaging systems. It is intended as a handbook for students in biomedical engineering, for medical physicists, and for engineers working on medical technologies, as well as for lecturers at universities and engineering schools. For qualified personnel at hospitals, and physicians working with these instruments it serves as a basic source of information. This also applies for service engineers and marketing specialists. The book starts with the representation of the physical basics of image processing, implying some knowledge of Fourier transforms. After that, experienced authors describe technical solutions and applications for imaging systems in medical diagnostics. The... |
 |
Disk Utilities Professional by Avanquest Running Disk Utilities on your computer is the equivalent of taking your car in for a tune-up. Disk Utilities Professional safely manages and organizes your hard drive, and backs up your critical data, software programs and Windows operating systems in the event disaster strikes. Hard drive cloning and disk wipe features make transferring to a new hard drive easy. |
 |
Automatic Refill System for HP Black Ink Cartridges by Hitachi Koki Imaging Solutions, Inc. Inkjet Auto Refill Kit System For Hewlett Packard Models Black |
 |
ATN OTIS-14 Thermal Imaging Systems Model number TIMPOTIS14 by ATN ATN OTIS-14 Thermal Imaging Systems Model number TIMPOTIS14 System Description The OTIS-14 is a thermal system intended for law enforcement military and commercial uses. It is built around state-of-the-art uncooled thermal imaging technology highly in |
 |
Tele Vue NP127is Imaging System 5" f/5.2, 4-Element APO Refractor Telescope Optical Tube Assembly, Ivory by Tele Vue Concept: CCD cameras have challenged telescope optics beyond anything ever placed at the focal plane. Tele Vue knew it's APO objectives were up to the challenge, & with the proper tweaks would be extraordinary tools for the imager. With Tele Vue Imaging System (is) telescopes, they have refined their instruments & optional equipment beyond anything a CCD chip has seen.It started small (literally) in 2005 with the Tele Vue-60is & available Digital Micrometer Kit. Achieving critical acclaim with the 60is, Tele Vue was encouraged to further develop "is" telescopes & accessories to maximize aperture, real field coverage & performance, & to make the processes easier for the imager.For 25 years, Tele Vue has pushed the boundaries of APO refractors, & eyepieces, to the recognized pinnacle of... |
 |
Toshiba Famio 8 Digital Ultrasound System 3d Imaging Non Sensored Fusion by Toshiba Toshiba FAMIO 8 Digital Ultrasound System 3D Imaging Non Sensored Fusion : The new Famio 8 combines the latest advances in ultrasound into one compact, portable, black and white system. As a result it offers the kind of features you'd expect from a scanner intended for daily practice: high performance, ease of use, mobility, advanced communication features and efficient workflow. With a full range of diagnostic capabilities, Famio 8 can be used for all major applications.Features:Digital Continuous Beamformer Tissue Harmonic Imaging as a standard feature New 8-14 MHz high frequency linear transducer for outstanding small parts imaging Smart communication features that enhance efficiency:Digital storage on CDR and HDD Comprehensive, programmable measurement package Post measurements... |
|
UVP BioDoc-It Imaging System; With M-20 transilluminator, 20x20cm filter, 302nm, 230V by Ultra Violet Products Imaging Systems; BioDoc-It Workstation, 230V. Includes M-20 Transilluminator. Acquires gel images w,CCD monochrome camera; live preview of images on LCD. Preset exposure times. Filter area: 20 x 20cm. Overall, 14W x 10D x 19 in.H |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |