Endoscopic imaging system employing diffractive optical elements
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An objective for an endoscope, said objective intended to form an image in an image plane, said objective comprising:
- a first distal optical element, adapted to be disposed between an object and an aperture stop,an aperture stop, for absorbing rays of light passing through portions of said distal optical element other than from corresponding predetermined portions of the object, anda second proximal optical element, adapted to be disposed between said aperture stop and an imaging element, wherein;
a number of grooves spaced from one another by between about 10 and about 100 wavelengths of visible light are formed on at least one of distal or proximal surfaces of said distal and proximal optical elements, constituting said surface a diffractive surface;
said at least one diffractive surface is spaced well away from said aperture stop, said aperture stop being located with respect to said diffractive surface and having a pupil diameter such that only rays incident on particular limited areas on the diffractive surface from said corresponding predetermined portions of the object can reach corresponding points on the imaging surface; and
the depth and spacing of the grooves in said at least one diffractive surface varying with radial distance from the optical axis.
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Abstract
An improved endoscope comprises an objective including a diffractive optical element juxtaposed to a solid-state imaging element at the distal tip of the endoscope. An inexpensive halogen lamp at the proximal end of the endoscope is employed as the illumination source. A fiber-optic bundle carries light to the distal tip of the endoscope, where diffractive optical elements are provided to disperse light, illuminating the field of view.
131 Citations
53 Claims
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1. An objective for an endoscope, said objective intended to form an image in an image plane, said objective comprising:
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a first distal optical element, adapted to be disposed between an object and an aperture stop, an aperture stop, for absorbing rays of light passing through portions of said distal optical element other than from corresponding predetermined portions of the object, and a second proximal optical element, adapted to be disposed between said aperture stop and an imaging element, wherein; a number of grooves spaced from one another by between about 10 and about 100 wavelengths of visible light are formed on at least one of distal or proximal surfaces of said distal and proximal optical elements, constituting said surface a diffractive surface; said at least one diffractive surface is spaced well away from said aperture stop, said aperture stop being located with respect to said diffractive surface and having a pupil diameter such that only rays incident on particular limited areas on the diffractive surface from said corresponding predetermined portions of the object can reach corresponding points on the imaging surface; and the depth and spacing of the grooves in said at least one diffractive surface varying with radial distance from the optical axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An endoscopic imaging system, comprising:
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a probe having proximal and distal ends; a light source juxtaposed to said proximal end of said probe; said probe comprising an optical conduit carrying light from said light source to said distal tip of said probe, dispersive optics at said distal tip of said probe, for illuminating a field of view; an objective lens assembly at said distal tip of said probe, for collecting light from said field of view and forming an image thereof; a solid-state imaging element for generating an output image signal responsive to light collected by said objective lens assembly; and display means for displaying a visible image responsive to said output image signal; wherein a number of grooves of radial dimensions between about 10 and about 100 times the wavelength of visible light are molded into an optical surface of one or both of said dispersive optics and objective lens assembly, constituting said surface a diffractive optical element. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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- 45. An illumination system for an endoscopic probe, comprising a light source for juxtaposition to the input end of an optical conduit, and a dispersive element juxtaposed to the output end of said conduit at a distal tip of said probe, said light source comprising a halogen lamp with associated power supply and an ellipsoidal reflector focusing light from said lamp on a proximal end of said fiber optic conduit, and said dispersive element comprising a diffractive optical element.
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49. An endoscopic imaging system, comprising;
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(1) an illumination system, comprising (a) an optical conduit having a proximal input end and a distal output end, (b) a light source comprising a halogen lamp with associated power supply and an ellipsoidal reflector focusing light from said lamp substantially onto a proximal end of said optical conduit, and (c) a diffractive dispersive element juxtaposed to said distal output end of said conduit at a distal tip of an endoscopic probe; (2) an image formation portion, including (a) an objective disposed at said distal tip of an endoscopic probe, and comprising at least one diffractive surface for collecting light from a field of view, and (b) a solid-state imaging element for forming an image signal responsive to light collected by said objective; and (3) an image processing and display portion, including (a) signal processing circuitry for converting said image signal to a video signal, and (b) a display device responsive to said video signal for displaying an image responsive to said light collected from said field of view. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53)
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Specification