# US 2021/0275004 A1 · Encapsulated opto-electronic system for co-directional imaging in multiple fields of view > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2021/0275004 A1 - Document ID: US20210275004A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/191,318 - Filed: 2021-03-03 - Published: 2021-09-09 - Earliest claimed: 2020-03-09 - Assignees: Omniscient Imaging, Inc. - Applicants: Omniscient Imaging Inc. - Inventors: Bhaskar Banerjee; Brian Scaramella; Richard Pfisterer; Scott Ellis; Andrew Sapozink; Chih-Chiang Chang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210275004A1 ## CPC - A61B 1/041: {Capsule endoscopes for imaging} - A61B 1/00009: {of image signals during a use of endoscope} - A61B 1/00096: {Optical elements} - A61B 1/00177: {for 90 degrees side-viewing} - A61B 1/00179: {for off-axis viewing} - A61B 1/00181: {for multiple fixed viewing angles (A61B1/00193 takes precedence)} - G02B 23/243: {Objectives for endoscopes} - G02B 23/2484: {Arrangements in relation to a camera or imaging device (processing or control of video signals generated by an endoscope H04N23/60, H04N23/70)} - G02B 3/02: with non-spherical faces (G02B3/10 takes precedence) - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS ## Abstract A tethered opto-electronic imaging system encapsulated in an optically-transmissible housing capsule/shell and configured to image object space in multiple fields-of-view (FOVs) to form a visually-perceivable representation of the object space in which sub-images representing different FOVs remain co-directional regardless of mutual repositioning of the object and the imaging system. The capsule/shell of the system is a functionally-required portion of the train of optical components that aggregately define and form a lens of the optical imaging system. The tether is devoid of any functional optical channel or element. When different FOVs are supported by the same optical detector, co-directionality of formed sub-images images is achieved due via judicious spatial re-distribution of irradiance of an acquired sub-image to form a transformed sub-image while maintaining aspect ratios of dimensions of corresponding pixels of the acquired and transformed sub-images. Methodology of transformation of images utilizing radial redistribution of image irradiance. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An optoelectronic system comprising: a housing shell having a shell axis and first and second optically-transparent portions of the housing shell that are integrally connected with one another to form a wall of the housing shell that encapsulates and fluidly seals a volume therein, the volume containing: an optical detector system, a first lens facing a first portion of the housing shell that has a first non-zero optical power, a combination of the first lens and the first portion of the housing shell defining a front optical imaging system, wherein the front optical imaging system has a first optical axis and a front field of view (FFOV) and is configured to form a first image at the optical detector system; a second lens facing a second portion of the housing shell that has a second non-zero optical power, a combination of the second lens and the second portion of the housing shell defining a lateral optical imaging system, wherein the lateral optical imaging system has a second optical axis and a lateral field of view (LFOV) and is configured to form a second image at the optical detector system. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) An optoelectronic system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: a) the optoelectronic system comprises a tether electrically connecting contents of the housing shell with a programmable processor outside of the housing shell in absence of an optical channel inside the tether, and b) the first and second lens are spatially separated by the optical detector system. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) An optoelectronic system according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: (i) the tether includes only an electrically-conducting member and insulation for said electrically-conducting member, and (ii) the optical detector system includes only one optical detector. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) An optoelectronic system according to claim 1, wherein the first image has a first perimeter that is a portion of a circumference of a circle that includes an axial point of the first image and has a first radius, wherein the second image is dimensioned as a stripe or band having a second perimeter that is a portion of a circumference of a circle with a second radius, and wherein the second radius is no smaller than the first radius, the optoelectronic system comprising: programmable electronic circuitry in electrical cooperation with the optical detector system, said programmable electronic circuitry configured to govern the operation of the optical detector system and, when the optical detector system includes only one optical detector, transform a chosen image from the first and second images to form a third image such that a remaining image from the first and second images and the third image having equal directionality. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) An optoelectronic system according to claim 1, configured to form the first image is optically-conjugate to a portion of an object space covered by the FFOV, the first image having a first perimeter that is a portion of a circumference of a circle that includes an axial point of the first image and has a first radius, the second image is optically-conjugate to a portion of the object space covered by the LFOV, the second image being dimensioned, when the optoelectronic system is rotated in operation thereof about the shell axis, as an annulus having a second perimeter that is a portion of a circumference of a circle with a second radius, the second radius being no smaller than the first radius, and wherein a first directionality of the first image and a second directionality of the second image are equal to one another. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) An optoelectronic system according to claim 1, wherein the first lens includes a first sequence of two meniscus lens elements, an optical doublet, and a first positive lens element separating said first sequence from said optical doublet, while the second lens includes a second sequence of a meniscus lens element and a second positive lens element. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) An optoelectronic system according to claim 6, wherein two optical surfaces of the second lens are aspherical surfaces. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) An optoelectronic system according to claim 7, wherein an optical lens element having a first of said two optical surfaces and an optical lens element having a second of said two optical surfaces are separated by a positive lens element. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) An optoelectronic system according to claim 6, wherein none of the lens elements from the first lens includes an aspherical surface, and including a stop aperture between the first sequence of the two meniscus lens elements and the optical doublet. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) An optoelectronic system according to claim 1, wherein the optical detector system includes spatially distinct first and second optical detectors, and wherein the front optical imaging system is configured to form the first image at the first optical detector and the lateral optical imaging system is configured to form the second image at the second optical detector. ### Claim 11 A method for forming an image of an object space with the use of an optoelectronic system, the method comprising: acquiring, with an optical detector system located inside a housing shell of the optoelectronic system that has a shell axis, a first light through a first portion of the housing shell that has a first non-zero optical power and through a first lens, wherein a first combination of the first portion of the housing shell and the first lens defines a front optical imaging system of the optoelectronic system having a front field-of-view (FFOV), receiving, at the optical detector system, a second light through a second portion of the housing shell that has a second non-zero optical power and through a second lens, wherein a second combination of the second portion of the housing shell and the second lens defines a lateral optical imaging system of the optoelectronic system having a lateral field-of-view (LFOV); wherein the first and second portions of the housing shell are integrally connected with one another to form a wall of the housing shell that encapsulates and fluidly seals the optical detector system and the first and second lenses, forming a first image of a first portion of the object space covered by the FFOV from a first output provided by the optical detector system, the first image having a first perimeter that is a portion of a circumference of a circle that includes an axial point of the first image that that has a first radius, the first image having a first directionality; and forming a second image of a second portion of the object space covered by the LFOV from a second output provided by the optical detector system, the second image having a second directionality that is equal to the first directionality. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) A method according to claim 11, wherein forming the second image includes forming the second image dimensioned as a stripe or band having an inner perimeter and an outer perimeter, the inner perimeter being a portion of a circumference of a circle with a second radius, the outer perimeter being a portion of a circumference of a second with a third radius, wherein the second radius is no smaller than the first radius and the third radius is larger than the second radius. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, comprising rotating the housing shell about the shell axis by moving a tether that is connected to the housing shell and that is devoid of any optical member therein, to dimension said second image as an annulus having said second perimeter and circumscribing the first image. ### Claim 14 (depends on 2) A method according to claim 2, comprising at least one of the following actions: a) transmitting electrical signals representing output from the optical detector system through a tether, which is connected to the housing shell and which is configured to transmit only electrical signals; b) forming an auxiliary image of the second portion of the object space covered by the LFOV, the auxiliary image having an auxiliary directionality that is opposite to the first directionality; and transforming irradiance distribution of the auxiliary image to create said second image by radially redistributing irradiance of the auxiliary image with respect to a circumference of a circle of a chosen radius located between the inner and outer perimeters of said auxiliary image; and c) with the use of programmable electronic circuitry of the optoelectronic system, generating a report containing a visually-perceivable representation of at least one of the first image and the second image. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) A method according to claim 14, wherein said irradiance distribution of the auxiliary image includes a first irradiance at a first image pixel at a first location outside of said circumference and a second irradiance at a second image pixel at a second location inside said circumference, the first and second locations being radially-symmetric with respect to the circumference with said radius that is defined as a weighted combination of (i) a geometric mean of the second and third radii, and (ii) an arithmetic mean of said second and third radii, and wherein the transforming said irradiance distribution includes assigning a value of the first irradiance to the second image pixel while assigning a value of the second irradiance to the first image pixel. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: a) said acquiring includes acquiring the first light at a first optical detector structured to collect light from the object space only through the first lens; and b) said receiving includes receiving the second light at a second optical detector structured to collect light from the object space only through the second lens. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) A method according to claim 16, wherein the first lens and the second lens are spatially separated from one another by at least one of the first optical detector and the second optical detector. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) A method according to claim 11, wherein said acquiring includes transmitting the first light through a sequence of three meniscus lens elements prior to transmitting said first light through an optical doublet, wherein the first lens comprises two of said three meniscus lens elements and said optical doublet. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) A method according to claim 18, wherein said acquiring comprises transmitting the first light through a stop aperture separating said optical doublet from a positive lens element. ### Claim 20 (depends on 11) A method according to claim 11, wherein said receiving includes transmitting the second light through a sequence of two positive lens elements after transmitting said second light through a sequence of two meniscus lens elements, wherein the second lens comprises one of said two meniscus lens elements and said sequence of two positive lens elements.