Method and device for tracking relative movement by correlating signals

Abstract

A method and device for tracking relative movement between the device and a region of interest include correlating a reference frame of signals with a subsequently acquired sample frame of signals, with the correlating including generating a correlation output for each of a number of nearest-neighbor shifts of signals of one of the frames. Preferably, the frames are comprised of a two-dimensional array of pixels and the signals are pixel values. The pixels of a frame are operatively associated with photoelements in a two-dimensional array of photoelements, with the pixel values being indicative of light energy received at the photoelements. By correlating the reference frame and the sample frame using the nearest-neighbor approach, it is possible to determine the movement of an imaged feature during the time period between acquisition of the reference frame and acquisition of the sample frame. In the preferred embodiment, the pixel values of the reference frame may be selectively shifted to correspond to the movement of the image feature, allowing the nearest-neighbor approach to continue even after the relative movement exceeds a pixel length. Also in the preferred embodiment, the device is a scanner having a second photoelement array. The second photoelement array captures image data which is position-tagged by navigation data acquired by means of the correlation of reference and sample frames.