I have been approached to provide support on a portion of the typical medical Endscopic camera. ( Yes the ones that surgeons insert into somebody's mouth :-(

The setup is simple :

A collating / magnifying lens - focus on to a CCD image sensor ( Sony ICX404AK or equivalent ) - process image based on user preferences - display on normal TV screen.

So where does the 8051 come in ? It is there to provide the user with a menu on a 16x2 LCD , get his/her preferences, store it in a EEPROM, generate and send in the required control voltages to the image processing IC(s).

Now the user will take of the rest : The Endoscope+lens arrangement, the mount for the CCD sensor, light source and optic fiber link to the base unit and the TV. I have to handle the output from the CCD sensor and then send it to the TV.

Can anyone guide me regarding the basic setup on the chain starting from the CCD image sensor to the Video_OUT port to TV ? Hope my query is clear.

I am completely new to image processing. Though I have been Googling, latching on to relevant data seems difficult - particularly since I am new to this. And if you feel that this is of tall order, I will be glad to know it.

Thanks

Raghu