# US 2019/0174038 A1 · Endoscope probes and systems, and methods for use therewith

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- Number: US 2019/0174038 A1
- Document ID: US20190174038A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/216,847
- Filed: 2018-12-11
- Published: 2019-06-06
- Earliest claimed: 2015-08-05
- Assignees: Canon U.S.A., Inc.
- Applicants: Canon U.S.A., Inc.
- Inventors: Seiji TAKEUCHI; Jacob Schieffelin BRAUER; Anderson MACH; Badr ELMAANAOUI; Sarika VERMA; Kenji YAMAZOE; Toshiyuki SUDO; Michio ISHIKAWA
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190174038A1

## CPC

- H04N 23/56: provided with illuminating means
- G02B 23/2461: {Illumination}
- G02B 23/26: using light guides {(for illumination G02B23/2469)}
- G02B 27/4227: {in image scanning systems}
- A61B 1/00096: {Optical elements}
- A61B 5/0075: {by spectroscopy, i.e. measuring spectra, e.g. Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption spectroscopy (A61B5/0071 takes precedence)}
- A61B 5/0084: {for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters (A61B5/1459 takes precedence)}
- 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
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)

## Abstract

The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for color imaging and an increased field of view using spectrally encoded endoscopy techniques. At least one of the apparatuses includes an illumination unit having two or more spectrally dispersive gratings positioned, for example, on different planes or on the same plane but having grating vectors at an angle to each other such that bands of spectrally dispersed light propagating from the gratings propagate on different planes.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus comprising:
an illumination unit having at least a first spectrally dispersive grating that is a first facet of a pyramid and a second spectrally dispersive grating that is a second facet of the pyramid structured and positioned such that a first band of spectrally dispersed light propagating from the first spectrally dispersive grating propagates on a different plane than a second band of spectrally dispersed light propagating from the second spectrally dispersive grating,
one or more detection waveguides configured to receive a first reflected light and a second reflected light reflected by a sample; and
one or more detection units configured to:
detect and correlate the first and second reflected lights and form one or more images with information of at least two colors of light,
detect and connect a field of view of light and form one or more images with the connected field of view, or
detect and correlate the first and second reflected lights and form one or more images with information obtained by the one or more detection units at different times,
wherein the apparatus is configured such that the first and second bands of spectrally dispersed light are spatially separated when incident on the sample.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second bands of spectrally dispersed light:
illuminate a same position on the sample at different times when the at least the first and the second spectrally dispersive gratings are rotated,
cover different diffraction angles, or
illuminate a same azimuthal angle at different times when the at least the first and the second spectrally dispersive gratings are rotated.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a rotational element.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a broadband light source and one or more light guiding components configured and positioned to direct light into the at least the first and the second spectrally dispersive gratings.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) at least the first spectrally dispersive grating of the pyramid and the second spectrally dispersive grating of the pyramid are on different planes or are on planes that are not parallel to each other;
(ii) at least the first spectrally dispersive grating of the pyramid and the second spectrally dispersive grating of the pyramid have different groove densities;
(iii) the groove densities of the first and second spectrally dispersive gratings differ from one another by at least 200 lines/mm;
(iv) the pyramid does not have a vertex at a center thereof; and
(v) the pyramid has its vertex at one point on a circumference of an outer circle or on an edge of the illumination unit or of the gratings.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) the first and second gratings have patterns that are repeated at least two times each on the grating configuration;
(ii) the second spectrally dispersive grating has a grating vector at an angle of between 5 degrees and 20 degrees from the grating vector of the first spectrally dispersive grating; and
(iii) the at least the first and second spectrally dispersive gratings have a different pitch.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
a third spectrally dispersive grating that is a third facet of the pyramid, wherein a third band of light propagating from the third spectrally dispersive grating propagates on a different plane than either the first or second bands of light,
wherein the one or more detection waveguides are further configured to receive a third reflected light reflected by the sample, and
wherein the one or more detection units are configured to detect and correlate the first, second, and third reflected lights and form one or more images with information of at least three colors of light.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The apparatus of claim 7, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) at least the first spectrally dispersive grating of the pyramid, the second spectrally dispersive grating of the pyramid and the third spectrally dispersive grating of the pyramid are on different planes or are on planes that are not parallel to each other;
(ii) at least the first, second, and third spectrally dispersive gratings have the same angle with respect to an axis of rotation; and
(iii) at least the first, second, and third spectrally dispersive gratings have three different facet angles so lights incident on the spectrally dispersive gratings have different diffraction angles.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more of the following:
(i) an actuation unit;
(ii) a single detection fiber or three or more detection fibers;
(iii) one or more switches that alternate illumination from the first and second spectrally dispersive gratings; and
(iv) an optical element positioned such that a light reflected by a tissue or the sample reflects off of or is angled by the optical element before it is incident on the one or more detection waveguides.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) the one or more detection units are configured to detect and correlate the first and second reflected lights and form one or more images based on the first and second reflected lights collected from the same spatial location on the sample at different times;
(ii) the one or more detection waveguides include an optical fiber positioned such that a reflected light reflected by the sample of the first and second reflected lights travels through at least one spectrally dispersive grating of the at least the first and second spectrally dispersive gratings before the light reflected by the sample is incident on the detection optical fiber, or the one or more detection waveguides include an optical fiber positioned such that a reflected light reflected by the sample of the first and second reflected lights is incident on the optical fiber without previously traveling through a spectrally dispersive grating;
(iii) the apparatus is configured and structured such that a field angle of a light entering the one or more detection waveguides is smaller than a field angle of the diffracted light having the first wavelength and the diffracted light having the second wavelength;
(iv) the one or more detection waveguides comprise an angle-polished optical fiber configured such that the detection field of the detection optical fiber substantially overlaps the illumination field of the apparatus; and
(v) respective or relative areas of the first and second spectrally dispersive gratings are sized to compensate for a spectral intensity distribution of a light source.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sample is an in vivo tissue sample.

### Claim 12

A probe comprising:
a light guiding component,
a light focusing component,
a rotational element, and
a grating configuration that comprises at least three spectrally dispersive grating patterns located on at least three facets of a pyramid, wherein bands of spectrally dispersed light propagating from the at last three spectrally dispersive grating patterns propagate on different planes and are incident on a sample at different spatial positions.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The probe of claim 12, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) the at least three spectrally dispersive grating patterns are on different planes or are on planes that are not parallel to each other;
(ii) the at least three spectrally dispersive grating patterns have the same angle with respect to an axis of rotation; and
(iii) the at least three spectrally dispersive grating patterns have three different facet angles so lights incident on the spectrally dispersive gratings have different diffraction angles.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The probe of claim 12, wherein the bands of spectrally dispersed light propagating from the at least three spectrally dispersive grating patterns:
illuminate a same position on the sample at different times when the at least three spectrally dispersive grating patterns are rotated,
cover different diffraction angles, or
illuminate a same azimuthal angle at different times when the at least three spectrally dispersive grating patterns are rotated.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The probe of claim 12, wherein the sample is an in vivo tissue sample.

### Claim 16

A method of fabricating an illumination unit, the method comprising:
polishing a light focusing component;
splicing the light focusing component and a light guiding component;
polishing a distal end of the light focusing component or a distal end of a spacer attached to the distal end of the light focusing component to create a plurality of pyramidal surfaces defining a pyramid structure;
patterning a plurality of gratings onto at least a portion of the plurality of pyramidal surfaces; and
curing the patterned gratings.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising attaching the spacer onto the distal end of the light focusing component, and cleaving and polishing the spacer.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) the light focusing component is a gradient-index (GRIN) lens;
(ii) the patterning of the gratings is done by stamping a curable material to each of the plurality of pyramidal surfaces with a master grating;
(iii) the spacer is a coreless class rod that is spliced onto the light focusing component;
(iv) the illumination unit is bundled by bonding with adhesives or a heat shrink tube;
(v) the pyramidal structure does not have a vertex at a center thereof; and
(vi) the pyramidal structure has its vertex at one point on a circumference of an outer circle or on an edge of the illumination unit or of the gratings.

### Claim 19

A method of fabricating an illumination unit, the method comprising:
polishing a first light focusing component;
splicing the first light focusing component and a first light guiding component;
polishing a distal end of the first light focusing component to create an angled surface;
patterning one or more gratings onto the angled surface;
curing the patterned one or more gratings to create a first fiber grating unit;
repeating the polishing, splicing, polishing, patterning, and curing steps to create a second fiber grating unit and a third fiber grating unit;
bundling the first, second, and third fiber grating units to form a pyramidal shaped illumination unit.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) the method further comprises attaching a spacer onto a distal end of one or more of the first light focusing component of the first fiber grating unit, a second light focusing component of the second fiber grating unit and a third light focusing component of the third fiber grating unit, and cleaving and polishing the spacer; and
(ii) the spacer is a coreless class rod that is spliced onto the light focusing component of one or more of the fiber grating unit, the second fiber grating unit, and the third fiber grating unit.

### Claim 21 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein one or more of the following:
(i) the light focusing component of one or more of the first fiber grating unit, the second fiber grating unit, and the third fiber grating unit is a gradient-index (GRIN) lens;
(ii) the patterning of the one or more gratings is done by stamping a curable material to each of the angled surfaces of the first fiber grating unit, the second fiber grating unit, and the third fiber grating unit with a master grating;
(iii) the illumination unit is bundled by bonding with adhesives or a heat shrink tube;
(iv) the pyramidal shaped illumination unit does not have a vertex at a center thereof; and
(v) the pyramidal shaped illumination unit has its vertex at one point on a circumference of an outer circle or on an edge of the illumination unit or of the one or more gratings.