Multispectral Camera Assembly for Simultaneous Surgical Imaging

The patent employs periodic action by using a mechanical chopper to alternately block and transmit different wavelength ranges to a single sensor. The chopper rotates at controlled speeds to sequentially direct visible light and infrared light to the same sensor, enabling multispectral imaging without requiring multiple sensors simultaneously. This temporal multiplexing approach resolves the technical contradiction by achieving spectral versatility through time-based separation rather than spatial separation.

The patent introduces a mechanical chopper as an intermediary device between the light sources and the sensor. This chopper acts as a mediator that selectively directs different wavelength ranges to the single sensor at different times. The chopper includes wavelength-selective filters and rotating elements that intermediate the light paths, allowing one sensor to capture multiple spectral bands sequentially. This intermediary approach enables multispectral capability without the complexity of multiple sensors.

By using periodic action with a mechanical chopper, the patent enables a single sensor to sequentially capture multiple spectral bands. The chopper alternates between transmitting visible light and infrared light to the same sensor at different time intervals. This approach maintains the full sensitivity and active imaging area of the single sensor while achieving multispectral versatility through temporal multiplexing, thereby resolving the contradiction between versatility and sensitivity.

The patent makes the single sensor universal by enabling it to detect multiple wavelength ranges sequentially. The sensor is designed to be multi-functional, capable of capturing both visible and infrared light by switching between different optical paths using the chopper mechanism. This universal sensor approach eliminates the need for specialized sensors for each wavelength range, maintaining sensitivity while achieving imaging versatility.

The patent uses periodic action through a mechanically actuated chopper system that sequentially directs visible and non-visible (infrared) light to a single sensor. The chopper rotates at controlled speeds to alternate between spectral bands, and the system synchronizes the chopping frequency with the surgical imaging requirements. This temporal separation approach achieves the diagnostic benefits of simultaneous multispectral imaging while maintaining relatively simple hardware architecture, thus improving surgical precision without proportionally increasing system complexity.

The patent replaces complex electronic or optical systems with a mechanically simple chopper-based approach. Instead of using multiple complex sensors, filter wheels, or beam splitters, the invention uses a straightforward mechanical rotating chopper with wavelength-selective filters. This mechanical substitution simplifies the overall system architecture while enabling simultaneous multispectral imaging capability, thereby improving surgical precision without excessive complexity increase.