Miniature image acquistion system using a scanning resonant waveguide

A system for acquiring an image of a target surface, comprising:

• a light source which emits light;
• a flexible, optical waveguide which receives the emitted light and directs the light toward a target surface, wherein at a given time the light impinges on a spot of the target surface, the spot being an illuminated spot;
• an actuator which deflects the waveguide into a resonant motion, the directed light tracing a scan path along the target surface;
• a photon detector having an active viewing area of the target surface which exceeds size of the illuminated spot;
• and
• a correlator which correlates sampling time of the photon detector with the light as the light traces a scan path, wherein pixels are acquired of an image of a portion of the target surface, wherein resolution of each one pixel of the acquired pixels corresponds to the size of the illuminated spot.

An image acquisition system, comprising:

• a light source which emits light;
• an optical waveguide which receives the emitted light and directs the light toward a target surface, wherein at a given time the light impinges on a spot of the target surface, the spot being an illuminated spot;
• an actuator for deflecting the waveguide in a resonant mode, wherein the light traces a scan path along the target surface;
• a collector fiber which collects light over an area of the target surface which includes and exceeds an area of the illuminated spot;
• a scanning device optically coupled to the collector fiber which scans the collected light onto a second surface;
• wherein a given time at which the light impinges on the target surface is synchronized with the collection of light and scanning of collected light to acquire a portion of an image of the target surface, and wherein image resolution is determined by the area of the illuminated spot, wherein the collector fiber collects photons of light and the second surface receives collected photons of light directly, as distinguished from the second surface receiving a sampled representation of the collected light.

A medical apparatus for acquiring an image of a target surface, comprising:

• a light source which emits light;
• a flexible, optical waveguide which receives the emitted light and directs the light toward a target surface, wherein at a given time the light impinges on a spot of the target surface, the spot being an illuminated spot;
• an actuator which deflects the waveguide into a resonant motion, the directed light tracing a scan path along the target surface;
• a photon detector having an active viewing area of the target surface which exceeds size of the illuminated spot;
• and
• a correlator which correlates sampling time of the photon detector with the light as the light traces a scan path, wherein pixels are acquired of an image of a portion of the target surface, wherein resolution of each one pixel of the acquired pixels corresponds to the size of the illuminated spot.

An endoscopic device for acquiring an image of a target surface, comprising:

• a light source which emits light;
• a flexible, optical waveguide which receives the emitted light and directs the light toward a target surface, wherein at a given time the light impinges on a spot of the target surface, the spot being an illuminated spot;
• an actuator which deflects the waveguide into a resonant motion, the directed light tracing a scan path along the target surface;
• a photon detector having an active viewing area of the target surface which exceeds size of the illuminated spot;
• and
• a correlator which correlates sampling time of the photon detector with the light as the light traces a scan path, wherein pixels are acquired of an image of a portion of the target surface, wherein resolution of each one pixel of the acquired pixels corresponds to the size of the illuminated spot.

A medical apparatus, comprising:

• a light source which emits light;
• an optical waveguide which receives the emitted light and directs the light toward a target surface, wherein at a given time the light impinges on a spot of the target surface, the spot being an illuminated spot;
• an actuator for deflecting the waveguide in a resonant mode, wherein the light traces a scan path along the target surface;
• a collector fiber which collects light over an area of the target surface which includes and exceeds an area of the illuminated spot;
• a scanning device optically coupled to the collector fiber which scans the collected light onto a second surface;
• wherein a given time at which the light impinges on the target surface is synchronized with the collection of light and scanning of collected light to acquire a portion of an image of the target surface, and wherein image resolution is determined by the area of the illuminated spot, wherein the collector fiber collects photons of light and the second surface receives collected photons of light directly, as distinguished from the second surface receiving a sampled representation of the collected light.

An endoscopic device, comprising:

• a light source which emits light;
• an optical waveguide which receives the emitted light and directs the light toward a target surface, wherein at a given time the light impinges on a spot of the target surface, the spot being an illuminated spot;
• an actuator for deflecting the waveguide in a resonant mode, wherein the light traces a scan path along the target surface;
• a collector fiber which collects light over an area of the target surface which includes and exceeds an area of the illuminated spot;
• a scanning device optically coupled to the collector fiber which scans the collected light onto a second surface;
• wherein a given time at which the light impinges on the target surface is synchronized with the collection of light and scanning of collected light to acquire a portion of an image of the target surface, and wherein image resolution is determined by the area of the illuminated spot, wherein the collector fiber collects photons of light and the second surface receives collected photons of light directly, as distinguished from the second surface receiving a sampled representation of the collected light.