METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A DIGITAL IMAGE OF AN OBJECT WITH REDUCED SPECKLE-PATTERN NOISE, BY CONSECUTIVELY CAPTURING, BUFFERING AND PROCESSING A SERIES OF DIGITAL IMAGES OF THE OBJECT OVER A SERIES OF CONSECUTIVELY DIFFERENT PHOTO-INTEGRATION TIME PERIODS

摘要

A method of and system for producing a digital image of an object with reduced speckle-pattern noise power. The method comprises moving a hand-supportable PLIIM-based imager relative to an object so as to consecutively capture, over a series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods, a series of digital images of an object with speckle-pattern noise. This series of digital images are buffered over the series of consecutively different photo-integration time periods. Corresponding pixel data subsets defined over a small window in the set of captured digital images are processed so as to produce spatially corresponding pixels data subsets in a reconstructed digital image of the object, containing speckle-pattern noise having a substantially reduced level of RMS power. The method and system may also be used using both linear and area type PLIIM-based imagers. By virtue of the present invention, it is possible to now use laser illumination and electronic image detection arrays to produce digital images of objects with substantially reduced speckle-noise power levels.