Three-dimensional imaging using a single camera
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsDouglas P. Hart, Federico Frigerio, Davide M. Marini
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Abstract
The attenuation and other optical properties of a medium are exploited to measure a thickness of the medium between a sensor and a target surface. Disclosed herein are various mediums, arrangements of hardware, and processing techniques that can be used to capture these thickness measurements and obtain three-dimensional images of the target surface in a variety of imaging contexts. This includes general techniques for imaging interior/concave surfaces as well as exterior/convex surfaces, as well as specific adaptations of these techniques to imaging ear canals, human dentition, and so forth.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- positioning a balloon in a cavity, the balloon including a fluorescent substance that fluoresces over a range of wavelengths;
- inflating the balloon with a medium until a surface of the balloon conforms to a target surface within the cavity, wherein the medium absorbs a first wavelength of light within the range of wavelengths more than a second wavelength of light within the range of wavelengths;
- illuminating the surface of the balloon at an excitation wavelength for the fluorescent substance;
- measuring an intensity of the first wavelength and an intensity of the second wavelength in a direction of a location on the surface when illuminated;
- calculating a thickness of the medium in the direction of the location based upon a ratio of the intensity of the first wavelength and the intensity of the second wavelength;
- and
- combining a plurality of similarly calculated thickness measurements of the medium in a plurality of directions toward the surface of the balloon to obtain a three-dimensional image of the balloon.
A non-transitory computer program product for capturing three-dimensional images from a balloon having a surface with a fluorescent substance that fluoresces over a range of wavelengths, the non-transitory computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and the non-transitory computer program product, when executing on one or more computing devices, performing the steps of:
- controlling a pump to inflate the balloon to a predetermined pressure with a medium that absorbs a first wavelength of light within the range of wavelengths more than a second wavelength of light within the range of wavelengths;
- controlling a light source to illuminate the surface of the balloon at an excitation wavelength for the fluorescent substance;
- controlling an optical device to measuring an intensity of the first wavelength and an intensity of the second wavelength in a direction of a location on the surface when illuminated;
- calculating a thickness of the medium in the direction of the location based upon a ratio of the intensity of the first wavelength and the intensity of the second wavelength;
- and
- combining a plurality of similarly calculated thickness measurements of the medium in a plurality of directions toward the surface of the balloon to obtain a three-dimensional image of the balloon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.