Otoscanner with safety warning system

• US 8,900,130 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2012
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ethos-United-I LLC
• Original Assignee: United Sciences LLC
• Inventors: Berglund, Nathanael, Bergman, Harris, Cahall, Scott, Foster, Jerry, George, Eohan, Harris, Samuel W., Hatzilias, Giorgos, Hong, Ruizhi, Sharpe, Wess E., Stites, David G., Strothers, Harry S. IV, Hatzilias, Karol
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Anhtuan T
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOU, WILLIAM B
• Application Number:
  US13/586,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20130237759A1
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 600/103, 600/108, 600/109, 600/117, 600/118, 600/131, 600/160, 600178-180, 600/182, 600/200, 356/603, 385/128
• US Class Current: 600/109
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00052 positioned at proximal end of the endoscope body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/227 for ears, i.e. otoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2055 Optical tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/367 creating a 3D dataset from 2D images using position information
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0062 Arrangements for scanning
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0073 by tomography, i.e. reconstruction of 3D images from 2D projections A61B5/0066 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/065 Determining position of the probe employing exclusively positioning means located on or in the probe, e.g. using position sensors arranged on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1079 using optical or photographic means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7253 characterised by using transforms
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing

Abstract

An otoscanner including an otoscanner body, the body comprising a hand grip, the body having mounted upon it an ear probe, a tracking illumination emitter, a plurality of tracking illumination sensors, and a display screen, the otoscanner body having mounted within it an image sensor; the image sensor coupled for data communications to a data processor, with the data processor configured to function by inferring, from a tracked position of the ear probe, previously recorded statistics describing typical ear sizes according to human demographics, and currently recorded demographic information regarding a person whose ear is scanned, the actual present position of the ear probe in relation to at least one part of the scanned ear; and providing a warning when the probe moves within a predefined distance from the part of the scanned ear.

Claims

1. An otoscanner comprising:

a otoscanner body, the otoscanner body comprising a hand grip, the otoscanner body having mounted upon it an ear probe, a tracking illumination emitter, a plurality of tracking illumination sensors, and a display screen, the otoscanner body having mounted within it an image sensor;

the ear probe comprising a wide-angle lens optically coupled to the image sensor, a laser light source, a laser optical element, and a source of non-laser video illumination, the wide-angle lens having sufficient depth of field, the depth of field defined by planes of focus, such that all imaging light on an interior surface of a scanned object is disposed between the planes of focus and in focus at the image sensor;

the plurality of tracking illumination sensors disposed upon the otoscanner body so as to sense reflections of tracking illumination emitted from the tracking illumination emitter and reflected from tracking targets installed at positions that are fixed relative to the scanned ear;

the display screen coupled for data communications to the image sensor, the display screen displaying images of a scanned ear,

the image sensor coupled for data communications to a data processor, with the data processor configured so that it functions by constructing, in dependence upon a sequence of images captured when the scanned ear is illuminated by laser light and tracked positions of the ear probe inferred from reflections of tracking illumination sensed by the tracking illumination sensors, a 3D image of the interior of the scanned ear; and

wherein the processor is further configured to function by;

inferring, from a tracked position of the ear probe, previously recorded statistics describing typical ear sizes according to human demographics, and currently recorded demographic information regarding a person whose ear is scanned, the actual present position of the ear probe in relation to at least one part of the scanned ear; and

providing a warning when the probe moves within a predefined distance from the part of the scanned ear.

2. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein the display screen is positioned on the otoscanner body in relation to the ear probe so that when the ear probe is positioned for scanning, both the display screen and the ear probe are visible to an operator operating the otoscanner.

3. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein the laser light source in the ear probe comprises an optical fiber that conducts laser light to the ear probe from a laser outside the ear probe.

4. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein the laser light source comprises a laser mounted in the ear probe.

5. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein:

the laser optical element comprises a conical laser-reflective optical element; and

the laser light source and the conical laser-reflecting optical element are configured so that the conical laser-reflecting optical element, when illuminated by the laser light source, projects a broken ring of laser light upon an interior surface of the scanned ear when the ear probe is positioned in the scanned ear.

6. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein:

the laser optical element comprises a diffractive laser optic lens; and

the laser light source and the diffractive laser optic lens are configured so that the diffractive laser optic lens, when illuminated by the laser light source, projects upon an interior surface of the scanned ear a fan of laser light at a predetermined angle with respect to a front surface of the diffractive laser optic lens when the ear probe is positioned in the scanned ear.

7. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein:

the image sensor operates at a video frame rate that is twice a standard video frame rate;

the laser light source is strobed during capture by the image sensor of alternate video frames;

video frames are captured by the image sensor when only the non-laser video illumination illuminates the scanned ear; and

images for constructing 3D images are captured by the image sensor only when the strobed laser light illuminates the scanned ear.

8. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein:

the tracking targets comprise retroreflectors; and

the tracking illumination is provided from a tracking illumination source mounted on the otoscanner body.

9. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein constructing a 3D image of the interior of a scanned ear further comprises, for a sequence from the image sensor of 2D images of the scanned ear taken when the scanned ear is illuminated by a ring of laser light from the ear probe:

detecting ridge points for each 2D image, the detecting further comprising identifying a set of brightest pixels for each 2D image, each set depicting a c-shaped broken ring of laser light reflecting from a surface of the scanned ear;

transforming, in dependence upon a predefined association between each pixel in the image sensor and corresponding points in scanner space, the ridge points to points in scanner space; and

transforming, in dependence upon a relationship between an origin of a coordinate system defining scanner space and an origin of another coordinate system defining ear space, the points in scanner space to points in ear space.

10. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein the display screen displaying images of the scanned ear further comprises the display screen displaying video images from the image sensor of the scanned ear illuminated only by non-laser video illumination.

11. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein:

the otoscanner further comprises the display screen coupled for data communications to the data processor; and

the display screen displaying images of the scanned ear further comprises the display screen displaying the 3D image of the interior of the scanned ear.

12. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein the data processor is further configured to function by:

determining a position of the ear probe in ear space when the ear probe is positioned at the aperture of the auditory canal of the scanned ear; and

setting the position of the ear probe in ear space when the probe is positioned at the aperture of the auditory canal of the scanned ear as the origin of a coordinate system defining ear space.

13. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein constructing the 3D image further comprises constructing the 3D image in dependence upon a sequence of images captured by the image sensor as the ear probe is moved in the scanned ear.

14. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein constructing the 3D image further comprises constructing the 3D image in dependence upon a sequence of images captured by the image sensor as the ear probe is moved in the scanned ear with mouth open.

15. The otoscanner of claim 1 wherein constructing the 3D image further comprises constructing the 3D image in dependence upon a sequence of images captured by the image sensor as the ear probe is moved in the scanned ear with mouth closed.