Adapter for use with digital imaging medical device

• US 8,199,187 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Knapp, Keith N. II, Braunstein, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Safaipour, Houshang
• Application Number:
  US11/241,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20060114986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,447 Days
• Field of Search: 348/65, 348/333.02, 348/231.3, 348/231.6
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00103 designed for single use
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00124 electrical, e.g. electrical plug-and-socket connection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/042 characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/05 characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0669 at proximal end of an endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An adapter that allows digital imaging devices to be used with existing analog consoles. In one embodiment of the invention, an adaptor is provided that receives a digital video image signal from a medical device and converts the digital signal into an analog signal that can be displayed by an analog console. In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for converting a digital video signal received from a medical imaging device into a standardized analog video format.

Claims

1. A method of converting serial digital video signals to a standardized analog video format, the method comprising:

receiving an input serial digital video signal from a device having a remote image sensor;

deserializing the input digital video signal;

decoding the deserialized input digital video signal;

generating synthetic horizontal and vertical synchronization signals;

interlacing the digital signal into standard line memories;

converting the digital signal into a standardized analog video format; and

applying an illumination uniformity correction to the digital video signal;

wherein the illumination uniformity correction is applied as a function of at least one of a field of view, vignetting in a lens, and a cosine fall-off in an imaging system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device having a remote image sensor is a single-use endoscope.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote image sensor is a solid state imaging sensor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein decoding the deserialized input digital video signal includes decoding embedded synchronization signals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the synthetic horizontal and vertical synchronization signals are added to the digital video signal.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying a color space conversion to the digital video signal.

7. A method of converting serial digital video signals to a standardized analog video format, the method comprising:

receiving an input serial digital video signal from a single-use endoscope having a remote image sensor;

deserializing the input digital video signal;

decoding the deserialized input digital video signal;

generating synthetic horizontal and vertical synchronization signals;

interlacing the digital signal into standard line memories; and

converting the digital signal into a standardized analog video format;

wherein the single-use endoscope is configured to cooperate with an adapter, and wherein the step of receiving an input serial digital video signal includes the adapter receiving the input serial digital video signal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein converting the digital signal into a standardized analog video format creates an analog video signal, the method further comprising:

sending the analog video signal from the adaptor to an analog video processor.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

transmitting a temperature signal from a thermistor in the single-use endoscope to a temperature sensor receiver in the adapter.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

terminating power to the single-use endoscope based on the temperature signal received by the temperature sensor receiver.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

transmitting a clocking signal from a remote clock source in the adapter to a clock receiver in the single-use endoscope.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

transmitting a power signal from a power source in the adapter to a power regulator in the single-use endoscope; and

regulating power delivered to the remote image sensor in the single-use endoscope.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting a power signal from the power source to an illumination source in the single-use endoscope.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

connecting the adapter to a peripheral support device such that the adapter provides communication between the single-use endoscope and the peripheral support device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the peripheral support device includes at least one of a vacuum source, a gas source, and a fluid source.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the adapter includes a deserializer.

17. The method of claim 7, wherein a camera card in the adapter is configured to receive the input serial digital video signal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a control signal line transmits bidirectional control signals between the camera card and the remote image sensor.