# US 12,003,861 B2 · Systems and methods for mitigating artifacts in medical imaging > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,003,861 B2 - Document ID: US12003861B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/560,156 - Filed: 2021-12-22 - Published: 2022-06-30 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2020-12-30 - Assignees: Stryker Corporation - Applicants: Stryker Corporation - Inventors: Benjamin Hyman Feingold; Marc André; Levey Trac Tran; Rohit Subramanian - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12003861B2 ## CPC - H04N 23/72: Combination of two or more compensation controls - A61B 1/00009: {of image signals during a use of endoscope} - A61B 1/005: Flexible endoscopes - A61B 1/05: characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion - A61B 1/0684: {using light emitting diodes [LED]} - H04N 23/74: by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means - H04N 23/75: by influencing optical camera components - H04N 25/531: by controlling rolling shutters in CMOS SSIS - A61B 1/042: {characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera} - H04N 23/555: {for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes} - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) ## Abstract An exemplary method of imaging tissue of a subject using a rolling shutter imager to provide a video stream comprises: sequentially resetting a plurality of rows of pixels of the rolling shutter imager from a first row to a last row; transitioning a liquid crystal shutter from a closed state to an open state; after the liquid crystal shutter is transitioned into the open state and after resetting the last row, illuminating the tissue of the subject with an illumination light for an illumination period to accumulate charge at the plurality of rows of pixels, and after the illumination period ends, sequentially reading the accumulated charge at the rows of pixels from the first row to the last row; generating an image frame from the sequentially read accumulated charge at the plurality of rows of pixels; and adding the image frame to the video stream. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of imaging tissue of a subject using a rolling shutter imager to provide a video stream, the method comprising: sequentially resetting a plurality of rows of pixels of the rolling shutter imager from a first row to a last row; transitioning a liquid crystal shutter from a closed state to an open state; after the liquid crystal shutter is transitioned into the open state and after resetting the last row, illuminating the tissue of the subject with an illumination light for an illumination period to accumulate charge at the plurality of rows of pixels, and after the illumination period ends, sequentially reading the accumulated charge at the rows of pixels from the first row to the last row; generating an image frame from the sequentially read accumulated charge at the plurality of rows of pixels; and adding the image frame to the video stream. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the illumination period is at least a portion of the time period between when the last row is reset and when the first row is read. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the illumination period starts when the last row is reset. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of rows of pixels is exposed for the same period of time to generate the image. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: after the end of the illumination period, starting transitioning the liquid crystal shutter from the open state to the closed state. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: at the end of the illumination period, starting transitioning the liquid crystal shutter from the open state to the closed state. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: before the end of the illumination period, starting transitioning the liquid crystal shutter from the open state to the closed state. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal shutter is opened or closed using a timer device based on a vertical sync pulse. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal shutter is opened or closed based on one or more characteristics of an imaged scene. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more characteristics of the imaged scene comprise brightness and/or modality of the imaged scene. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the illumination light is generated by at least one LED. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the rolling shutter imager is part of an endoscopic imager. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the rolling shutter imager is part of a flexible and/or chip-on-tip scope. ### Claim 14 A system of imaging tissue of a subject to provide a video stream, the system comprising: an illumination source; and an imaging apparatus that comprises a rolling shutter imager, the imaging apparatus being configured for: sequentially resetting a plurality of rows of pixels of the rolling shutter imager from a first row to a last row; transitioning a liquid crystal shutter from a closed state to an open state; after the liquid crystal shutter is transitioned into the open state and after resetting the last row, illuminating the tissue of the subject with the illumination source for an illumination period to accumulate charge at the plurality of rows of pixels, and after the illumination period ends, sequentially reading the accumulated charge at the rows of pixels from the first row to the last row; generating an image frame from the sequentially read accumulated charge at the plurality of rows of pixels; and adding the image frame to the video stream. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the illumination period is at least a portion of the time period between when the last row is reset and when the first row is read. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the illumination period starts when the last row is reset. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of rows of pixels is exposed for the same period of time to generate the image. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the imaging apparatus is further configured for: after the end of the illumination period, starting transitioning the liquid crystal shutter from the open state to the closed state. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the imaging apparatus is further configured for: at the end of the illumination period, starting transitioning the liquid crystal shutter from the open state to the closed state. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the imaging apparatus is further configured for: before the end of the illumination period, starting transitioning the liquid crystal shutter from the open state to the closed state. ### Claim 21 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the liquid crystal shutter is opened or closed using a timer device based on a vertical sync pulse. ### Claim 22 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the liquid crystal shutter is opened or closed based on one or more characteristics of an imaged scene. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more characteristics of the imaged scene comprise brightness and/or modality of the imaged scene. ### Claim 24 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the illumination source comprises at least one LED. ### Claim 25 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the rolling shutter imager is part of an endoscopic imager. ### Claim 26 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the rolling shutter imager is part of a flexible and/or chip-on-tip scope.