Patent ID: 7146032
Filing Date: 2006-12-05
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A method of reading out an electronic image sensor that is subdivided into image points and wherefrom image points or groups of image points can be read out with a predetermined clock period, and organized into at least two quantities of image points and/or groups of image points whose elements can be read out at different scanning rates, the method comprising: selecting a region of interest (ROI) of the sensor for which the desired temporal resolution of the image is higher than that for a region outside the ROI of the sensor; collecting image information from the region outside the ROI for reading at a later stage; and separately reading each of the image points to provide an image, wherein the quantities of image points and/or groups of image points in the selected region are read out at a higher scanning rate than the scanning rate for quantities of image points and/or groups of image points in the region outside the ROI, and wherein a prolonged integration of an exposure in the region outside the ROI results in an improved local signal-to-noise ratio and a higher image quality in the region outside the ROI.