Recovering 3D structure using blur and parallax

1. A method for generating a focused image of an object from a first image of the object and a second image of the object, the method comprising:

estimating a parallax parameter based on motion of at least one pixel in the first image relative to the second image;

estimating a blur parameter based on a change in defocus of the at least one pixel from the first image to the second image;

determining a posterior energy function based on the parallax parameter and the blur parameter; and

generating at least one of a focused image of the object and a depth profile of the object using the posterior energy function.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a first portion of the object appears in focus in the first image and a second portion of the object appears in focus in the second image.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the posterior energy function comprises:

generating a blur map based on the blur parameter.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining at least one of the first image and the second image from a memory.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining the first image with an imaging system;

causing a change in distance between the object and a focal plane of the imaging system; and

obtaining the second image with the imaging system.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein causing the change in distance between the object and the imaging system comprises:

moving at least one of the object and the imaging system along an optical axis of the imaging system.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the imaging system is member of a group consisting of: an endoscopy system, a laparoscopy system, and a digital photography system.

8. A system for obtaining a focused image of an object from a first image of the object and second image of the object, the system comprising:

a memory to store the first image and the second image; and

processing circuitry, operably coupled to the memory, to:

estimate a parallax parameter based on motion of at least one pixel in the first image relative to the second image;

estimate a blur parameter based on a change in defocus of the at least one pixel from the first image to the second image;

determine a posterior energy function based on the first and second parallax parameters and the first and second blur parameters; and

generate at least one of a focused image of the object and a corrected depth profile of the object using the posterior energy function.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein a first portion of the object appears in focus in the first image and a second portion of the object appears in focus in the second image.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the posterior energy function by generating a blur map based on the blur parameter.

11. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

an imaging sensor, operably coupled to the memory, to acquire the first image and the second image.

12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising:

a lens to focus a first portion of the object on the imaging sensor during acquisition of the first image and to focus a second portion of the object on the imaging sensor during acquisition of the second image.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the system is member of a group consisting of: an endoscopy system, a laparoscopy system, and a digital photography system.

14. A system for generating a focused image of an object, comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of images of the object; and

processing circuitry, operably coupled to the memory, to:

select a subset of images from the plurality of images;

estimate a parallax parameter and a blur parameter for each pixel in the subset of images;

determine a posterior energy function based on the estimated parallax parameter and the blur parameter of each pixel in the plurality of images; and

generate at least one of a focused image and a depth profile of the object by applying the posterior energy function to the subset of images.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the subset of images includes a first image in which a first portion of the object appears in focus and a second image in which a second portion of the object appears in focus.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the blur parameter and the parallax parameter are a function of a structure of the object.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to apply a smoothness constraint to the subset of images.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to obtain the smoothness constraint by using Gauss-Markov random fields.

19. The system of claim 14 , further comprising:

an imaging sensor to acquire the plurality of images; and

image acquisition circuitry, operably coupled to the imaging sensor and to the memory, to filter the plurality of images.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of images is obtained by moving the object relative to the imaging sensor over a plurality of incremental distances along an optical axis of the imaging sensor.