Optical position and/or shape sensing
AssigneeIntuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
InventorsMark E. Froggatt, Justin W. Klein, Dawn K. Gifford, Stephen Tod Kreger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An accurate measurement method and apparatus are disclosed for shape sensing with a multi-core fiber. A change in optical length is detected in ones of the cores in the multi-core fiber up to a point on the multi-core fiber. A location and/or a pointing direction are/is determined at the point on the multi-core fiber based on the detected changes in optical length. The accuracy of the determination is better than 0.5% of the optical length of the multi-core fiber up to the point on the multi-core fiber. In a preferred example embodiment, the determining includes determining a shape of at least a portion of the multi-core fiber based on the detected changes in optical length.
Claims41
A measurement method for a multi-core fiber, comprising:
- detecting a total change in optical length in ones of the cores in the multi-core fiber that reflects an accumulation of all of the changes in optical length for multiple fiber segment lengths up to a point on the multi-core fiber, and
- determining a location or a pointing direction at the point on the multi-core fiber based on the detected total change in optical length.
An apparatus for making measurements of a multi-core fiber, comprising:
- detection circuitry configured to detect a total change in optical length in cores in the multi-core fiber that reflects an accumulation of all of the changes in optical length for multiple fiber segment lengths up to a point on the multi-core fiber, and
- calculation circuitry configured to determine a location or a pointing direction at the point on the multi-core fiber based on the detected total change in optical length.
A non-transitory storage medium storing a program instructions which when executed on a computerized measurement device cause the computerized measurement device to make measurements of a multi-core fiber by performing the following tasks:
- detecting a total change in optical length in ones of the cores in the multi-core fiber that reflects an accumulation of all of the changes in optical length for multiple fiber segment lengths up to a point on the multi-core fiber, and
- determining a location or a pointing direction at the point on the multi-core fiber based on the detected total change in optical length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.