A REAL-TIME MULTIFUNCTION VIDEO FORMAT CONVERTER

THE ABSENCE OF A MULTIFUNCTION FORMAT CONVERTER TO CONVERT 525-LINE/5-MHZ VIDEO TO 1,023-LINE RATE DISPLAY, PROGRESSIVE OR INTERLACED, RESULTS IN EXCESSIVE COSTS BY OVERSPECIFICATION OF VIDEO CHAINS WITHOUT CORRESPONDING DIAGNOSTIC VALUES. PHASE I WILL INVOLVE APPLIED RESEARCH ON REAL-TIME PIXEL INTERPOLATION TECHNIQUES (UP-CONVERTING LINE RATES) TO ENABLE 1,023-LINE DISPLAY FOR LINE STRUCTURE FILTERING OF 525-LINE/5-MHZ VIDEO, PROGRESSIVE OR INTERLACED (SCAN CONVERSION), WITH SYSTEMS PROVISIONS FOR MULTIFRAME STORES. PHASE I OBJECTIVES ARE TO INVESTIGATE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE, CRITICAL CIRCUITS, COMPONENTS, AND SOURCES; ESTABLISH PRELIMINARY DESIGNS AND CONSTRUCT BREADBOARDS; AND CONDUCT MEDICAL-SITE EVALUATIONS OF DIAGNOSTIC MERIT AT THE MAYO CLINIC. THESE INNOVATIVE FUNCTIONS WILL OBVIATE THE TREND TO HIGH-RESOLUTION VIDEO CHAINS BY ENABLING DISPLAY OF 525-LINE/5-MHZ PROGRESSIVE VIDEO, ON 1,023-LINE INTERLACE MONITORS. THIS CURTAILS THE COST OR NEED FOR REPLACEMENT OF ALL OTHER 525-LINE/5-MHZ VIDEO CHAIN COMPONENTS, WHILE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING DIAGNOSTIC USEFULNESS.