# US 2014/0192320 A1 · Image capturing apparatus and capturing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0192320 A1 - Document ID: US20140192320A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/736,075 - Filed: 2013-01-08 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-08 - Assignees: Altek Corporation - Applicants: Altek Corporation - Inventors: Te-Chao Tsao - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140192320A1 ## CPC - A61B 3/14: Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography - A61B 3/0025: {characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) ## Abstract An image capturing apparatus including a plurality of image sensing modules and at least a light source is provided for capturing an image of an eye. Each of the image sensing modules includes an image sensor and a lens. The light source emits an illumination light, and the illumination light irradiates the eye. The eye reflects the illumination light into an image light. The image light includes a plurality of sub-image beams, and the sub-image beams are transmitted to the image sensors of the image sensing modules through the lenses of the image sensing modules, respectively. A capturing method is also provided. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image capturing apparatus, configured to capture an image of an eye, the image capturing apparatus comprising: a plurality of image sensing modules, each comprising an image sensor and a lens; and at least one light source, emitting an illumination light, wherein the illumination light irradiates the eye, and the eye reflects the illumination light into an image light, the image light comprises a plurality of sub-image beams, and the sub-image beams are respectively transmitted to the image sensors through the lenses of the image sensing modules. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the illumination light irradiates a fundus of the eye through a pupil of the eye, the fundus reflects the illumination light into the image light, and the sub-image beams of the image light are respectively transmitted to the image sensing modules through the pupil. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein image capturing ranges of two adjacent image sensing modules on the fundus are partially overlapped. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein optical axes of the lenses of the image sensing modules are not parallel to each other, and the optical axes of the lenses pass through the pupil of the eye. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the image sensing modules further comprises an actuator connected to at least one of the image sensor and the lens to focus the image sensing module. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the image sensing modules further comprises a micro processing unit electrically connected to the corresponding image sensor to obtain data of an image produced by the sub-image beam detected by the image sensor. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a processing unit, electrically connected to the image sensing modules to synthesize a plurality of images of the eye that are respectively produced by the sub-image beams detected by the image sensors. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the images of the eye detected by two of the adjacent image sensors are partially overlapped. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the processing unit compares coinciding portions of the images to serve as a correction reference used when the images are synthesized. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the correction reference comprises at least one of a color correction reference, a coordinate conversion correction reference and a noise reduction correction reference. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the images of the eye comprise a central image and a plurality of peripheral images adjacent to the central image. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processing unit comprises: a first comparison module, comparing coinciding portions of a first peripheral image in the peripheral images and the central image; a second comparison module, comparing coinciding portions of a second peripheral image in the peripheral images and the central image; a third comparison module, calculating an average image of coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image, and comparing coinciding portions of the average image and the central image; a fourth comparison module, calculating a gradient image of the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image, and comparing coinciding portions of the gradient image and the central image; and a determination module, determining a minimum comparison difference of comparison results of the first to the fourth comparison modules, wherein when a comparison difference of the first comparison module is the minimum, the determination module uses data of the first peripheral image for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image; when a comparison difference of the second comparison module is the minimum, the determination module uses data of the second peripheral image for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image; when a comparison difference of the third comparison module is the minimum, the determination module uses data of the average image for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image; and when a comparison difference of the fourth comparison module is the minimum, the determination module uses data of the gradient image for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processing unit uses data of the central image for a central zone of the central image, and the processing unit uses data of the peripheral images for portions of a surrounding zone of the central image that coincide with central zones of the adjacent peripheral images. ### Claim 14 (depends on 7) The image capturing apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processing unit first performs a correction of reducing pincushion distortion on the images of the eye, and then synthesizes the images performed with the correction of reducing pincushion distortion. ### Claim 15 A capturing method, configured to capture an image of an eye, the capturing method comprising: simultaneously capturing a plurality of images of the eye from different directions; and synthesizing the images. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The capturing method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the images of the eye are a plurality of images of a fundus of the eye, and the step of simultaneously capturing the images of the eye from different directions comprises capturing the images of the fundus of the eye through a pupil of the eye. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The capturing method as claimed in claim 16, wherein two adjacent images of the fundus of the eye are partially overlapped. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The capturing method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the step of synthesizing the images comprises comparing coinciding portions of the images to serve as a correction reference used when the images are synthesized. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The capturing method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the correction reference comprises at least one of a color correction reference, a coordinate conversion correction reference and a noise reduction correction reference. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The capturing method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the images of the fundus of the eye comprise a central image and a plurality of peripheral images adjacent to the central image. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The capturing method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the step of synthesizing the images comprises: (a) comparing coinciding portions of a first peripheral image in the peripheral images and the central image; (b) comparing coinciding portions of a second peripheral image in the peripheral images and the central image; (c) calculating an average image of coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image, and comparing coinciding portions of the average image and the central image; (d) calculating a gradient image of the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image, and comparing coinciding portions of the gradient image and the central image; and (e) determining a minimum comparison difference in comparison results of the step (a) to the step (d), wherein when a comparison difference of the step (a) is the minimum, data of the first peripheral image is used for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image; when a comparison difference of the step (b) is the minimum, data of the second peripheral image is used for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image; when a comparison difference of the step (c) is the minimum, data of the average image is used for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image; and when a comparison difference of the step (d) is the minimum, data of the gradient image is used for the coinciding portions of the first peripheral image and the second peripheral image. ### Claim 22 (depends on 20) The capturing method as claimed in claim 20, wherein data of the central image is used for a central zone of the central image, and data of the peripheral images is used for portions of a surrounding zone of the central image that coincide with the central zones of the adjacent peripheral images. ### Claim 23 (depends on 15) The capturing method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising: performing a correction of reducing pincushion distortion on the images before the images are synthesized, wherein the step of synthesizing the images is synthesizing the images performed with the correction of reducing pincushion distortion.