Flashing Illuminators for Endoscope Motion Blur Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopes experience motion-induced blur and interlacing artifacts during procedures, leading to reduced image quality and increased miss rates of pathological objects, which is clinically significant and affects detection accuracy.
Innovation Solution
The use of flashing illuminators, such as LEDs, which are flashed at high intensity for short durations to minimize motion blur and interlacing artifacts, with a controller synchronizing the flashes with the image capture to reduce blur and noise in endoscopic images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If continuous illumination is used, then the image is well-lit, but motion blur occurs during endoscope movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by switching from continuous illumination to pulsed/intermittent illumination. The illumination source emits light in periodic pulses synchronized with the image sensor's exposure timing, providing sufficient light for each frame while minimizing cumulative motion blur during endoscope movement through the patient's body.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-synchronizing the illumination pulses with the image sensor's exposure timing. The illumination is activated just before and during the exposure period, ensuring optimal lighting for each frame capture while coordinating with the sensor's readout cycle to prevent interlacing artifacts and motion blur.
2Illumination intensity
If continuous illumination is used, then adequate lighting is provided, but interlacing artifacts appear during scope movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic illumination pulses that are synchronized with the interlaced video field timing. By providing illumination in discrete pulses corresponding to each field capture rather than continuous light, the system maintains adequate lighting for each field while eliminating the temporal displacement that causes interlacing artifacts during movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The illumination system performs preliminary action by pre-synchronizing light emission with the start of each field exposure. This coordination ensures that both fields of the interlaced video receive consistent illumination during their respective exposure periods, preventing the temporal mismatch that creates interlacing artifacts when the scope moves.
3Use of energy by moving object
If long exposure time is used, then more light is captured, but motion blur increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by using high-intensity illumination pulses that are brief in duration but frequent enough to provide sufficient total light exposure. Each pulse provides intense lighting for a short period, capturing enough photons for a well-exposed image while the brief exposure duration minimizes the distance the scope moves during exposure, reducing motion blur.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces motion blur and interlacing artifacts, resulting in clearer images with improved detail and reduced miss rates of pathological objects, enhancing the accuracy of endoscopic procedures.
Implementation Method 1
one or more discrete illuminators positioned in said tip to illuminate the fields of view of said viewing elements
Data Source
AI summary
In a multiple viewing elements endoscope, fuzziness and blur in the images due to movement of the endoscope is reduced by using flashing illuminators instead of continuous illumination. In one embodiment, LED illuminators are flashed at high intensity and for a very short duration. To address interlacing artifacts, LEDs are flashed once at the end of a field and again at the beginning of the following field to minimize the time difference between the capture of the two fields. In another embodiment, the LEDs are flashed once wherein the single flash overlaps the end of a field and the beginning of the following field. In some embodiments, still images may be captured with fine detail by pressing a button on the endoscope handle which activates the LEDs to flash along with the capture of an image. In one embodiment, pressing a button for still image capture results in the capture of two fields, each accompanied by a flash, which are interlaced to form a single still image frame.