Pseudo-Tomographic Imaging from Puncture-Member Fiber-Optic Video
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies are limited by the field of view of optical fiber bundles, preventing the capture of tissue shapes and structures beyond this range and depth, necessitating a technique for generating tomographic images at a cellular level.
Innovation Solution
A tomographic image processing device that acquires and corrects moving images via a puncture member's light-receiving surface, tracks and estimates movement vectors, extracts similar candidates, and generates pseudo tomographic images by arranging these candidates based on calculated positions, using a puncture member composed of bundled optical fibers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an optical fiber bundle is used for capturing tissue images, then the device can be inserted into the living body, but the field of view is limited to the thickness of the optical fiber bundle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from 2D cross-sectional imaging limited by optical fiber bundle thickness to 3D tomographic imaging by synthesizing multiple 2D frames with different depth information. The light-receiving surface captures cross-sectional images at various depths, and these are processed to generate pseudo-tomographic images that reveal three-dimensional tissue structures, thereby expanding the effective field of view beyond the physical thickness constraint.
2Device complexity
If the optical probe captures only within the limited field of view, then the device complexity remains simple, but tissue shapes and structures beyond this range cannot be captured
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing multiple cross-sectional frames at different depths before generating the final tomographic image. The light-receiving surface sequentially captures images at various positions along the insertion direction, and these pre-captured frames are then processed through image synthesis to reconstruct the complete three-dimensional tissue structure, thereby preventing information loss without requiring complex real-time processing.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional optical fiber bundle imaging is used, then the capturing range is limited, but the device can be easily manufactured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical limitation of optical fiber bundle thickness with a computational approach. Instead of increasing the physical size of the optical fiber bundle (which would maintain simplicity but limit insertability), the system uses image processing algorithms to synthesize tomographic images from multiple cross-sectional frames, achieving high measurement precision while maintaining ease of manufacture of the core optical component.
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
Enables the generation of high-resolution pseudo tomographic images of living bodies, capturing cross-sectional tissue details across wider ranges and depths, overcoming the limitations of conventional methods.
Implementation Method 1
a moving image in which a cross section of a living body is captured via a light-receiving surface
Data Source
AI summary
A tomographic image processing device generates a pseudo tomographic image from a moving image in which a cross section is captured via a light-receiving surface of a puncture member that punctures a living body. Herein, an acquirer acquires the moving image in which the cross section is captured via the light-receiving surface of the puncture member that punctures the living body. A corrector performs image correction of each frame of the moving image, based on a shape of the light-receiving surface. A tracker tracks a candidate for a picture of tissue of the living body that satisfies a desired tracking condition. An estimator estimates a representative vector, based on a movement vector of the candidate. An extractor extracts a candidate in which the movement vector is similar to the representative vector. A calculator calculates, based on a drawing position in a frame in which a picture of the extracted candidate is drawn in the moving image and an order of the frame, an arrangement position in which the picture of the candidate needs to be arranged. A generator generates a pseudo tomographic image of the living body by drawing the picture of the extracted candidate in the calculated arrangement position.