Wide angle HDTV endoscope

• US 20090147076A1
• Filed: 12/05/2008
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Original Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Inventors: Ertas, Hasan
• Granted Patent: US 8,360,964 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0005 combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00096 Optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00181 for multiple fixed viewing angles A61B1/00193 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/042 characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

A wide angle HDTV endoscope includes at least two optical imaging channels. Lenses close each channel at the distal end of the endoscope. The imaging channels each have a different field of view in complementary directions, and have overlapping or cross-over field of view areas. Received images are transmitted along the longitudinal axis of the imaging channels of the endoscope to a camera head that contains a wide screen image sensing device. An external light source provides the required lighting and an image processing device can provide necessary software algorithms to format the images and to control any overlapping or cross-over field of view areas to obtain a single display image. In another arrangement, optical blocking elements provided at the proximal end of the endoscope or within the imaging channels eliminate portions of one or more images from the imaging channels so that at the cross-over areas only a single image is provided to the imaging device.

Claims

1. An elongate wide viewing angle endoscope having a proximal end and a distal end comprising:

at least two rounded optical imaging channels at a distal end of said endoscope;

an image sensor arrangement for sensing rounded images provided by the rounded optical imaging channels; and

an image processing device for receiving an output from the image sensor arrangement.

2. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the imaging channels comprise rod lens systems.

3. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the imaging channels comprise fiber optic systems.

4. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein each said imaging channel has a different angle of view with respect to a longitudinal axis of the endoscope.

5. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein said imaging channels have fields of view that define at least one cross-over area whereat the rounded image from a first one of said imaging channels overlaps the rounded image from a second one of said imaging channels.

6. The endoscope of claim 5, including at least a third said rounded optical imaging channel, wherein said image processing device obtains a third said rounded image from said third imaging channel that overlaps the first and second images at a portion of the cross-over area so that three overlapping images are provided thereat, the processing device removing two of the three images at the portion of the cross-over area.

7. The endoscope of claim 5, further including an optic coupler having at least one of secondary optics, mechanical stoppers, mechanical blockers, and optical image stoppers for eliminating the image of at least one of said imaging channels at the at least one cross-over area to provide a view utilizing only one image at the cross-over area to the image sensor arrangement.

8. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein said imaging channels have a circular or elliptical shape along a length thereof and said image sensor arrangement has a rectangular shape with a 16:

9 aspect ratio for receiving the rounded images from the imaging channels.

9. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein said optical imaging channels extend from the distal end to the proximal end of the endoscope.

10. The endoscope of claim 9, wherein said image sensor arrangement comprises a camera located at the proximal end of said endoscope for receiving the images from said optical imaging channels.

11. The endoscope of claim 1, including a light source located within the endoscope.

12. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein said image processing device includes means for receiving electrical signals from imaging sensors of said image sensor arrangement, said imaging sensors comprising at least one of CCD, CMOS or other imaging elements.

13. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the distal tip end of said endoscope has a flat surface oriented transverse to a longitudinal axis of the endoscope to provide a cylindrical shape.

14. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the image sensor arrangement is located at or adjacent the distal end of the endoscope.

15. The endoscope of claim 13, wherein the imaging channels extend essentially parallel with a longitudinal axis of the endoscope from the distal end to the proximal end of the endoscope.

16. The endoscope of claim 1, including a display for receiving a high definition rectangular image having an aspect ratio of 16:

9 from the image processing device.

17. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the imaging channels comprise at least three said imaging channels aligned parallel to each other, the imaging channels opening in a row across the distal tip end so that a combined field of view for the rounded images from the imaging channels form overlapping concentric patterns.

18. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the images sensed by said image sensor arrangement from at least two said rounded optical imaging channels are combined by said image processing device to provide a field of view angle that is wider than the field of view angle from any one said image sensed by any one of the imaging channels.

19. The endoscope of claim 5, wherein the image processing device includes image correction algorithms for eliminating all portions of the rounded images at the cross-over area except one said image from one of said imaging channels to display a single display image formed by the images from the imaging channels.

20. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein said endoscope includes no more than five of said rounded optical imaging channels.

21. The endoscope of claim 1, including a transmitter for receiving the rounded images from the image sensor arrangement and transmitting the rounded images, and a receiver for receiving the rounded images from the transmitter and providing the rounded images to the image processing device.

22. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the endoscope is rotatable relative to the image sensor arrangement.