Color analysis method for estimating the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin using an image-input and processing system.

A color analysis method which enables both qualitative and quantitative analyses of an object's color was developed. The method uses a color image-input and processing system composed of a 3-tube video camera and a digital image analyzer, which quantizes a color image into values of red, green, and blue brightness, then processes these values. We introduced a spectrophotometric principle by the Beer-Lambert law, and were able to establish a color model to analyze an object's color. In the coordinate space based on our color model, the hue of the object's color is represented by the direction from the origin, and the density by the distance from the origin. This new method was used to analyze the colors of hemoglobin solutions at various oxygen saturations and concentrations. The results agreed with the known conditions, indicating the validity of the model and its usefulness for quantitative as well as qualitative analyses of color.