Mia: Can you tell me about your current role?
 
Dan: I’m a systems engineer at Precision Optics Corporation (POC). I work in a team that designs medical imaging systems, taking concepts from an early R&D stage through development into next generation endoscopic imaging systems. Once the design is finalized, we work with our customers to navigate the regulatory approval process and transfer the designs to our manufacturing. My area of expertise is endoscopic characterization; translating clinical needs into quantifiable specifications and developing test methods to measure device performance.
 
Mia: How long have you been using Imatest? And how did you discover Imatest software?
 
Dan: I’ve been using Imatest for the past three years. It was part of the existing infrastructure when I joined Lighthouse Imaging (now a POC company). As I have learned more and more about the features, I have found it to be extremely powerful to measure nuances in device performance.
 
Mia: So you use it for endoscopes, that’s great to hear. For that purpose, what feature in the software do you find yourself using the most? Maybe a certain module for sharpness?
 
Dan: We work on some very complicated high-definition imaging systems that require precise focusing. For these systems, the ability to watch the MTF change in real time while making microns of adjustment to the lens stack has transformational to our manufacturing processes. In the R&D environment, the ability to quickly analyze any imaging system metric is extremely useful.

Mia: Awesome. Do you have any tips or advice you’d like to share for those starting out in the software?
 
Dan: I’ve always found reaching out to the help desk (support) to be extremely helpful. Early on when I was learning the software, and sometimes now, they point me to the online guide. If it’s a more complicated question, I get an answer back quickly, whether its validation the way I want to use of the software, or something that might become a new feature request.
 
Mia: Yeah, the support team, they’re great. And then, of course, all of our documentation on our website.

 

Mia: Could you tell me about that photo?

Dan: As I have learned more and more about imaging systems, I have found myself drawn to old film cameras, and developing and processing these images. I was playing with the concept of dragging the shutter to capture the movement. It’s not the image I was visualizing, but I like it.

Mia: Very cool! Thank you so much for your time.
 
Dan: Thank you.

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Q: Mr. Xu, what kind of work do you do?

A: I am currently working as a professional teacher in Shenzhen Polytechnic, teaching courses such as “Digital Image Quality Inspection” and “Image Quality Tuning”.

Q: How long have you been using Imatest? What was the initial opportunity to come across imaster?

A: In 2015, I learned about Imatest from ColorSpace. I later attended Imatest’s technical exchanges and training sessions. It has been almost 8 years now.

Q: Which modules or functions do you use most often?

A: At first, I mainly analyzed ColorCheckers and evaluate the sharpness of smart phone images, etc.. Due to the course research needs, I also gradually explored other modules. Now, I often use modules such as Dot pattern, Distortion, ColorChecker, SFRplus Setup, Stepchart, Uniformity, etc.

Q: I heard that you have also conducted research in color vision and image quality evaluation, what kind of cameras do you pay more attention to? Which image quality parameters do you pay more attention to?

A: Due to the nature of the courses I teach and the research work I do related to the course content, I have some research on color vision, color appearance models, color management, etc. The types of cameras that I have been paying more attention to lately are AI, Automotive, etc. I will pay more attention to parameters such as Sharpness, Noise, Dynamic Range, White Balance, Gamma, and Color saturation.

Q: What kind of comments and suggestions do you have for Imatest software?

A: Imatest software covers many parameters of image quality, general image quality analysis problems can be solved. And the interface operation is friendly to beginners and easy to master. Regarding the suggestions, I feel that the software is slow to start, and some of the Chinese in the old version are not very accurate, this part has been improved in the latest version.I think, it would be better if the operation efficiency could be improved.

Thank you, Professor Xu, for taking the time to be interviewed, and thank you very much for your valuable comments and suggestions！

About Professor Xiangyang

Xu Xiangyang, PhD, Associate Professor, has been engaged in

teaching and research of digital graphic information processing

technology for 20 years, dedicated to the research direction of color

vision, image quality detection and evaluation. He has published

more than 20 academic papers in domestic and international

journals, obtained more than 10 national authorized patents, and

presided over and participated in more than 20 vertical and horizontal

projects. As the first author, he participated in the formulation of one

national standard and five industry standards. As the host, he has

developed 2 courses in the direction of image quality inspection and

tuning, participated in editing 2 national planning textbooks,

published 1 book in the series of training for highly skilled personnel

as the first author, and won 1 provincial teaching achievement award,

etc.

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