Loading patent…
AssigneesNorthwestern University, The Regents of the University of California, The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
InventorsAlex HUANG, Raymond S. FANG, Cheng SUN, Pengpeng ZHANG, Tingwei ZHANG, Hao F. ZHANG
Estimating the term…
Imaging complex, non-planar anatomies with optical coherence tomography (OCT) is often limited by the optical field of view (FOV) achieved in a single volumetric acquisition. Systems and methods described herein provide for freeform OCT beyond the FOV limit and for the construction of compound volumetric image representing a compound imaging volume (CIV) by montaging of multiple individual OCT volumetric images. Aspects of the present disclosure include freeform robotic visible-light optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT) systems, processes for mapping a plurality of image acquisition positions based on the geometry of an object to be imaged, and processes for constructing a compound volumetric image representing a CIV from a plurality of individual OCT volumetric images acquired from a plurality of different image capture locations.
A method for constructing a compound volumetric image of an object to be imaged from a plurality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) volumetric images acquired by an OCT imaging system, the method comprising:
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the determining, for each respective selected overlapping pair of OCT volumetric images, the geometric transformation from the second FOV to the first FOV further comprises:
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the identifying, in the first OCT volumetric image, the one or more landmark volumes located in the overlap volume comprises identifying, in the first OCT volumetric image, at least three common features of the object to be imaged that are visible in both the first OCT volumetric image and the second OCT volumetric image, and
The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising, for each respective selected overlapping pair of OCT volumetric images, defining, for the first OCT volumetric image, a first tool reference frame (TRF), and defining, for the second OCT volumetric image, a second TRF, and
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the constructing the compound volumetric image by applying the one or more geometric transformations of the one or more selected overlapping pairs of OCT volumetric images to merge the plurality of OCT volumetric images comprises, for at least one of the selected overlapping pairs of OCT volumetric images, transforming the second OCT volumetric image to a first tool reference frame (TRF) of the first volumetric image, and thereafter, applying a transformation mapping the first TRF to an object reference frame (ORF) to the transformed second OCT volumetric image.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the constructing the compound volumetric image by applying the one or more geometric transformations of the one or more selected overlapping pairs of OCT volumetric images to merge the plurality of OCT volumetric images comprises, transforming the plurality of OCT volumetric images to a single respective reference frame defined by the object reference frame (ORF).
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein an image characteristic is used to determine an origin and axes of a reference frame of the compound volumetric image, wherein the image characteristic is selected from the group consisting of an axis of symmetry, a region of interest, and a normal vector to a surface of a region of interest in the compound volumetric image.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the constructing the compound volumetric image by applying the one or more geometric transformations of the one or more selected overlapping pairs of OCT volumetric images to merge the plurality of OCT volumetric images comprises:
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of OCT volumetric images are acquired by an OCT imaging system having a sample arm configured to move with multiple translational and rotational degrees of freedom.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the compound volumetric image has a compound imaging volume (CIV) that is enlarged relative to an imaging volume of each respective OCT volumetric image of the plurality of OCT volumetric images.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each of the plurality of OCT volumetric images is captured from a location of the OCT imaging system at which an image plane of the OCT imaging system is approximately tangential to a surface of the object to be imaged.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a primary symmetry axis within each cross-sectional B-scan of each of the plurality of OCT volumetric images is aligned with a normal vector of a surface of the object to be image.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein deviations in a center of mass in a z-axis of each respective tool reference frame (TRF) defined for a respective OCT volumetric image is minimized from both the left and right sides of a cross-sectional image.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the object to be imaged is an eye, and wherein, for an anterior segment of the eye, the reference frame of the eye is defined as the object reference frame (ORF), wherein axes of the ORF are defined using an optical axis of a respective tool reference frame (TRF) defined for a respective OCT volumetric image and parallelizing the optical axis of the respective TRF with an optical axis of the eye, the optical axis of the eye being parallel to a normal vector to a central cornea of the eye.
A system for constructing an aggregate volumetric image of an object to be imaged from a plurality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) volumetric images, the system comprising:
A method for determining a plurality of image acquisition positions for an OCT imaging system during imaging of an object to be imaged by the OCT imaging system, each image acquisition position corresponding to a field of view (FOV), the method comprising:
An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.