Camera adapter based optical imaging apparatus
AssigneeUniversity of Kent
InventorAdrian Podoleanu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An adapter which can make use of the devices in any commercially available digital cameras to accomplish different functions, the invention admits addition of confocal detection and provides simultaneous measurements or imaging in at least two channels, confocal and OCT, where the confocal channel provides an en-face image simultaneous with the acquisition of OCT cross sections, to guide the acquisition as well as to be used subsequently in the visualization of OCT images. Different technical solutions are provided for the assembly of one or two digital cameras which together with such adapters lead to modular and portable high resolution imaging systems which can accomplish various functions with a minimum of extra components while adapting the elements in the digital camera.
Claims23
A camera adapter for imaging an object in cooperation with a digital camera with an optical illumination source, a camera sensor, and a shutter release, the camera adapter comprising:
- a light input for accepting light from the optical illumination source;
- a light output for directing light onto the camera sensor;
- an object facing interface for directing light to the object and back from the object into the adapter;
- means in the camera adapter for directing light from the optical illumination source received at the light input to illuminate the object via the object facing interface;
- means in the camera adapter for directing light from the object received at the object facing interface onto the camera sensor via the light output;
- and
- means for processing at least one image captured by the camera sensor to generate depth resolved information from the object,
- further comprising an interferometer configuration using a main splitter, where light from the said optical source is delayed along a reference path within the adapter and the path length from the main splitter to the object and back defines an object path
- and an optical path difference adjusting block to alter the optical path difference between the object path and the reference path;
- wherein the light along the reference path and light along the object path define an object and a reference beam respectively, which after crossing the main splitter are incident on an optical dispersion element placed between the main splitter and the said light output to disperse light as a function of wavelength onto the camera sensor, where the two beams interfere.
A camera adapter for imaging an object in cooperation with a digital camera with an optical illumination source, a camera sensor, and a shutter release, the camera adapter comprising:
- a light-input for accepting light from the optical illumination source;
- a light output for directing light onto the camera sensor;
- an object facing interface for directing light to the object and back from the object into the adapter;
- means in the camera adapter for directing light from the optical illumination source received at the light input to illuminate the object via the object facing interface;
- means in the camera adapter for directing light from the object received at the object facing interface onto the camera sensor via the light output;
- and
- means for processing at least one image captured by the camera sensor to generate depth resolved information from the object,
- the camera adapter for imaging an object in cooperation with digital cameras arranged at two positions;
- wherein the camera adapter has:
- two respective light outputs for directing light onto the camera sensor of respective camera positions;
- a single object facing interface;
- where the object beam is returned through the main splitter to one input of a 50/50 splitter and the reference beam is input to the second input of the 50/50 splitter;
- and where an optical path difference adjusting block can be used to alter the path difference between the object path and the reference path;
- means to laterally shift one of the two beams, object or reference before their incidence on the 50/50 splitter;
- two optical dispersion elements dispersing light as a function of wavelength, each optical dispersion element arranged in the light path between one of the output of the 50/50 splitter and one of the said adapter output.
Apparatus for imaging an object providing simultaneous measurement in two channels, a confocal channel and an optical coherence tomography (OCT) channel, comprising:
- an optical illumination source,
- a camera sensor,
- a main splitter and a 2nd splitter
- an optical dispersion element dispersing light as a function of wavelength, placed in the light path between one of the output of the 2nd splitter and the said adapter output
- a confocal receiver which intercepts a signal proportional to the intensity of the object beam incident on the dispersing element;
- where light from the said optical illumination source is split in a main splitter between an object beam and a reference beam, where the object beam is sent towards the object via the adapter input
- where the path length from the main splitter along the object beam to the object and back to the main splitter and then along from one of the outputs of the main splitter to the 1st input of a 2nd splitter defines an object path and the path from the main splitter along the reference beam towards the 2nd input of the 2nd splitter defines a reference path
- an optical path difference adjusting block between the path lengths of the object path and the reference path;
- displacing means for laterally displacing the reference optical beam from the object beam in its path towards the optical dispersion element to shift the reference beam away from the entrance of the confocal receiver so that the confocal receiver receives a signal proportional to the intensity of the object beam only;
- means for processing at least one image captured by the camera sensor to generate depth resolved information from the object as the OCT channel;
- and
- means for producing an en-face image using the signal provided by the confocal receiver.
A method of high resolution imaging of an object providing simultaneous measurement in two channels, a confocal channel and an optical coherence tomography (OCT) channel, the method comprising:
- providing an object and a reference beam respectively, the object beam passing from a light source to the object to be imaged and the object beam and the reference beam passing through an optical dispersion element directing both dispersed beams to a camera sensor where they interfere to generate depth resolved image data of the OCT channel;
- intercepting a signal proportional to the intensity of the object beam incident on the dispersion element in a confocal receiver;
- laterally displacing the reference optical beam from the object beam in their path towards the optical dispersion element to produce a shifted reference beam to shift the shifted reference beam away from the entrance of the confocal receiver,
- measuring the intensity of the object beam in the confocal detection of the object beam to provide the confocal channel;
- and
- producing an A-scan OCT by evaluating the FFT of the signal delivered by reading the camera.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.