Algorithms Enable Remote Diagnostics, at First Blush
July 25, 2012 – 6:07 amYou may blush because you are embarrassed, but software algorithms developed by MIT computer scientists see beyond the emotions. The redness of your face can be an indicator of your pulse, and it can be measured remotely via video, reports Technology Review.
“Eulerian video magnification,” as it is dubbed, breaks apart the visual elements of each frame of footage and reconstructs them, writes Conor Myhrvold. The process amplifies aspects of the video that are undetectable by the naked eye, including the variations in redness in a face that are caused by heartbeat.
Durand and his colleagues plan to make their software code available to others this summer. He predicts the primary application will be for remote medical diagnostics, but it could be used to detect any small motion; for example, structural engineers could measure the way wind makes a building sway or deform slightly.
