Invention:
University of Arizona researchers have developed a more uniform illumination system for better medical images. The system directs outgoing rays from the fiber bundle to provide more uniform illumination, even with extended non-lambertian sources, allowing the full field of view to be fully observed with good detail. It is low cost and can be easily attached to existing laparoscopes.
Background:
A laparoscope is equipped with an illumination system and imaging system. Current laparoscope illumination systems suffer from a narrow field-of-view and by a non-uniform spatial distribution of the illumination such that most energy is concentrated in a small region at the center of the field and the irradiance dramatically decreases from the center to the edge of the field. This makes the center overexposed and the edges underexposed so that the illuminated object cannot be clearly observed with full detail. A more uniform illumination system is needed for laparoscopes.
Applications:
- Fiber bundle-based illumination and imaging
- Laparoscopy
Advantages:
- Brightness is uniform across the object of interest
- Inexpensive to fabricate
Status: issued U.S. patent #10,481,386 and #10,838,193
