Hitachi, Ltd.

Institute for Personalized Information Environment

New Media Development Association

Shigeo Sumino

Hirotada Ueda

Takafumi Miyatake

Mitsuru Ikezawa

Akio Nagasaka

Katsumi Taniguchi

Satoshi Yoshizawa

Yoshitaka Bito

Toshiaki Suzuki

Yoshiyuki Nakayama

Katsumi Tada

Itaru Mimura

Hideki Yoshikawa

Taizo Kinoshita

Masakazu Fujio

Yoshiki Niwa

Hitoshi Matsuo

Hajime Sasaki

Apparatus and methods are provided herein for providing treatment plan in which a position of a heat source and a treatment order are optimized. An example treatment support apparatus includes a processor and a storage device connected to the processor. The storage device hold image information of tissue in a living body of a treatment target. The processor may extract a blood vessel structure of the inside of the living body from the image information, calculate positions of one or more heat sources for thermal treatment on a treatment scheduled region including at least a part of the extracted blood vessel structure on the basis of the extracted blood vessel structure, and output data for displaying an image including the calculated positions of the one or more heat sources.

Treatment support apparatus and treatment support method

The setting of a search condition is supported. Databasesandstore use frequency information about search conditions, co-occurrence frequency information between search conditions, relationship information unique to a particular field, use history information for each search condition, and simultaneous use history information. Based on a search condition that is already set, the database are referred to so as to calculate the recommendation level of other search conditions, and search conditions that have high recommendation levels and that are likely to be used simultaneously with the already-set search condition are arranged at conspicuous positions. The recommendation level is calculated based on the value of a co-occurrence frequency between search conditions, the history of simultaneous setting, or the estimated number of search results, for example.

Search apparatus

There is provided a process analysis method capable of clustering of executed processes and extraction of similar processes. A process analysis method of the present invention converts the similarity between processes into a numeric value as a metric by including a process matrix transformand a metric calculationfor process recordsmade up of a series of records of rendered service of at least three elements of the time of service, the type of service, and the quantity of service. This enables the calculation of the similarity between processes as a metric from information of only a series of records of rendered services. Accordingly, it becomes possible to cluster the executed processes and to extract similar processes based on the metric herein calculated.

Method and system for clinical process analysis

A method of characterizing a video includes the steps of extracting frame images from an input video, calculating a time length between each of the frame images and a next one of the frame images, assigning index information determined by the calculated time length to each of the frame images, stringing together the index information assigned to the frame images, and characterizing the input video by the strung-together index information. The index information is a character code, and the strung-together index information is a character code string. The frame images include head frame images located at scene changes of the input video. The input video is being broadcasted or is included in a data base.

Video retrieval method and apparatus

A method of characterizing a video includes the steps of extracting frame images from an input video, calculating a feature of each of the frame images, assigning index information determined by the calculated feature to each of the frame images, stringing together the index information assigned to the frame images, and characterizing the input video by the strung-together index information.

A method of characterizing a video by providing index information includes the steps of extracting representative frame images from an input video, calculating a feature of each of the representative frame images, assigning respective codes to the representative frame images, each of the codes being determined by the calculated feature of the representative frame image to which the code is assigned, generating a code string by stringing together the codes assigned to the representative frame images, and storing the code string as index information of the input video.

There is provided a video retrieval method, and apparatus, capable of fast matching a feature of a target video with a feature of an enquiry video without conducting work of providing keywords for video retrieval. As for the target video, both a video which is being broadcasted and a video included in a data base can be dealt with. A retrieval method includes the steps of providing a representative frame image specified by a user with a code or a code string as a name thereof, and registering beforehand code strings of a plurality of representative frame images as enquiry video names; inputting a target video; extracting a representative frame image from the video; calculating one feature or a plurality of features from a whole or a part of the frame image; assigning a corresponding code to the feature or each of the features; providing the frame image with the code or a code string arranged in a predetermined order as a name thereof, and producing a video name for the video in a form of a frame name string corresponding to a string of the frames; and matching the enquiry video names with the video name by using the frame name string and outputting a result.

An operation sequence user adaptive system for use in a processing system. The system including a central processing unit in which after objects displayed on a display screen of a display are specified from a mouse or a keyboard, and when a function to be effected for the objects are specified through selection of a function selective menu, a pertinent function of an application program is executed. The adaptive system includes a function of storing a data structure for storing therein a usage frequency of each of the functions, an update function of monitoring an operation conducted by the user for each function and updating a weight between particular functions successively operated, and a combining function of combining, when the weight updated by the update function exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the particular functions associated with the weight.

Operation sequence user adaptive system and method

A user adaptive system in a computer system executing an application program. The user adaptive system includes a storage area for storing therein a data structure corresponding to a combination of values for parameters to be arbitrarily set by a user for a job to be executed in the application program, a storage area for updating the combination of values in the structure, each time a parameter setting operation is conducted by the user, and a storage area operative, when a particular combination of values for the parameters is used more than a predetermined number of times, for registering the particular combination of values for the parameters.

User adaptive parametric macro creation system and method

A real time visual communication system capable of improving a correspondence between a received video signal and a received audio signal in real time and improving reality. An AV signal is separated into a video signal and an audio signal, and the output state of the video or audio signal is controlled by the characteristics of the audio or video signal. For example, the sound field, reverberation, and the like are controlled in accordance with the characteristics of the video signal. A suitable image pickup unit is selected in accordance with the characteristics of the audio signal to make the sights of conversation participants coincide with each other. It is possible to reproduce sounds of audio signals well matching video signals and to provide visual communication having good reality because of the combination of matched audio and video signals.

Apparatus for integrally controlling audio and video signals in real

A method for detecting a contour of a given subject to be separated from images utilizing an image separating system. First, a plurality of candidate points which have been input by a user are displayed on a screen. A smooth curve which connects the plurality of candidate points is determined and is displayed on a display apparatus. The intensity of light on a straight line extending in a direction normal to each candidate point is determined. The position of the candidate point is corrected based upon the rate of change in the intensity of light which is determined for each candidate point. A smooth curve which passes the corrected candidate points is determined and is displayed on the display apparatus. The specified image, represented by the smooth curve connecting the corrected candidate points, is then separated from the rest of the image elements.

Method for detecting a contour of a given subject to be separated from

A method of synthesizing a real image and a computer graphic (CG) having a complex shape in which the normal vector of each of two adjacent planes of a rectangular parallelepiped CG circumscribed about the CG having a complex shape is determined from the coordinates of six vertices representing the two planes on the basis of a real image of a rectangular parallelepiped, and parameters for three-dimensional rotational transformation of the rectangular parallelepiped CG required for synthesis are determined on the basis of the normal vectors. A CG having a complex shape for synthesis is produced by rotational transformation thereof on the basis of the parameters, and the CG having a complex shape thus produced is synthesized on the real image.

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Chofu, Japan

Shigeo Sumino