Solid state variable direction of view endoscope
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An endoscope, comprising:
- a lens system that comprises an optical axis that is angularly offset from a longitudinal axis of the endoscope where the optical axis resides at an angle greater than zero degrees to the longitudinal axis;
said lens system simultaneously gathering an image field spanning the longitudinal axis and an angle greater than ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis;
an imager having an imaging surface area, said imager receiving at least a portion of the image field and producing an output signal related to the image field;
imaging circuitry that receives the output signal and produces an image signal;
image selecting circuitry that receives the image signal and produces a region of interest signal that corresponds to a region of interest field that is less than the image field; and
an interface that enables a user to input an adjustment to the region of interest and produces an adjustment signal that expands the region of interest by incorporating pixels that reside outside an original area of the region of interest into the region of interest signal;
wherein said lens system at least partially redistributes the image field to even out an information density across the imaging surface area.
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Abstract
An endoscope with a wide angle lens that comprises an optical axis that is angularly offset from a longitudinal axis of the endoscope such that the optical axis resides at an angle greater than zero degrees to the longitudinal axis. The wide angle lens system simultaneously gathers an endoscopic image field, the endoscopic image field at least spanning the longitudinal axis and an angle greater than ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis. The endoscope includes an optical lens system to at least partially even out the information density across an imaging surface area of the imager.
68 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An endoscope, comprising:
- a lens system that comprises an optical axis that is angularly offset from a longitudinal axis of the endoscope where the optical axis resides at an angle greater than zero degrees to the longitudinal axis;
said lens system simultaneously gathering an image field spanning the longitudinal axis and an angle greater than ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis;
an imager having an imaging surface area, said imager receiving at least a portion of the image field and producing an output signal related to the image field;
imaging circuitry that receives the output signal and produces an image signal;
image selecting circuitry that receives the image signal and produces a region of interest signal that corresponds to a region of interest field that is less than the image field; and
an interface that enables a user to input an adjustment to the region of interest and produces an adjustment signal that expands the region of interest by incorporating pixels that reside outside an original area of the region of interest into the region of interest signal;
wherein said lens system at least partially redistributes the image field to even out an information density across the imaging surface area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 25, 26)
- a lens system that comprises an optical axis that is angularly offset from a longitudinal axis of the endoscope where the optical axis resides at an angle greater than zero degrees to the longitudinal axis;
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13. An endoscope, comprising:
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an optical system, the optical system including a wide-angle lens system, the wide-angle lens system having an optical axis that is angularly offset from a longitudinal axis of the endoscope such that the optical axis resides at an angle greater than zero degrees to the longitudinal axis, wherein the wide-angle lens system simultaneously gathers light rays from an endoscopic image field, the endoscopic image field at least spanning the longitudinal axis and an angle greater than ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis; an imager comprising an imaging surface area that receives only a portion of an endoscopic image transmitted by the wide-angle lens system and produces output signals corresponding to the endoscopic image field; image forming circuitry that receives the output signal and produces an image signal; image selecting circuitry that receives the image signal and produces a region of interest signal that corresponds to a region of interest field that is less than the image field; and an interface that enables a user to input an adjustment to the region of interest and produces an adjustment signal that expands the region of interest by incorporating pixels that reside outside an original area of the region of interest into the region of interest signal; wherein said optical system at least partially redistributes the image field to even out an information density across the imaging surface area. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An endoscope, comprising:
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a shaft comprising a proximal end and a distal end and a longitudinal axis spanning the proximal end and the distal ends, the distal end of the shaft being flexible; a handle coupled to the proximal end of the shaft; a wide-angle lens disposed in the distal end of the shaft, the wide-angle lens gathering an endoscopic image field, said wide-angle lens comprises having an optical axis that is angularly offset from a longitudinal axis of the endoscope such that the optical axis resides at an angle greater than zero degrees to the longitudinal axis; a solid state imager comprising an imaging surface area that receives at least a portion of an endoscopic image transmitted by the wide-angle lens and produces output signals corresponding to the endoscopic image field, the solid state imager disposed in the distal end of the shaft, the wide-angle lens being disposed distally to the solid state imager; image selecting circuitry that receives the image signal and produces a region of interest signal that corresponds to a region of interest field that is less than the image field; and an interface that enables a user to input an adjustment to the region of interest and produces an adjustment signal that expands the region of interest by incorporating pixels that reside outside an original area of the region of interest into the region of interest signal; wherein the wide-angle lens simultaneously gathers the endoscopic image field at least spanning the longitudinal axis and an angle greater than ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification