Separating Macroscopic and Confocal Imagers for Tissue Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for macroscopic and confocal imaging of tissue require physically integrating the macroscopic imaging means into the confocal microscope, making the imaging head complex and large, and lack a mechanism for ensuring precise spatial alignment between the camera and confocal microscope, which complicates tracking, targeting, and marking of confocal images within a macroscopic image.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a macroscopic imager and a confocal imager, both individually aligned to a tissue attachment device, with a computer system for receiving and displaying images, enabling graphical tracking, targeting, and marking of confocal images within a macroscopic image, and allowing for morphing of images over time to observe tissue changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the macroscopic imaging means is physically integrated into the confocal microscope, then the imaging system provides a unified viewing platform, but the imaging head becomes complex and large
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the macroscopic imager and confocal imager into independent units, each with its own imaging head. The macroscopic imager captures overall tissue context while the confocal imager provides detailed microscopic views. This segmentation allows each imaging component to be optimized independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining operational unity through software integration.
2Ease of operation
If the macroscopic imaging means is physically integrated into the confocal microscope, then the imaging system provides a unified viewing platform, but the imaging head becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the imaging system into separate macroscopic and confocal units, each with its own compact imaging head, the overall volume is reduced. Each imaging head is optimized for its specific function, avoiding the bulk that would result from integrating both imaging modalities into a single head.
3Measurement precision
If the camera and confocal microscope are physically integrated, then spatial alignment is fixed, but the alignment mechanism becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a tissue attachment device as an intermediary reference object that both the macroscopic imager and confocal imager align to independently. This intermediary provides a common reference frame without requiring direct mechanical coupling between the imagers, simplifying the alignment mechanism while maintaining precise spatial correlation through software-based registration.
4Device complexity
If the macroscopic imager and confocal imager are separated, then the design is simplified, but ensuring precise spatial alignment becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue attachment device serves as a common intermediary reference that both separated imagers align to independently. This approach maintains precise spatial alignment capability while keeping the imagers physically separate, allowing for simpler individual designs without sacrificing alignment accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical alignment mechanisms with software-based image registration and correlation techniques. By using computational methods to align images from the separated imagers based on the common tissue attachment device reference, the system achieves precise spatial alignment without requiring complex mechanical coupling.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for macroscopic and confocal imaging of tissue having a macroscopic imager for capturing a macroscopic image of the tissue's surface, a confocal imager for capturing one or more optically formed sectional microscopic images on or within tissue, a computer for receiving images from such imagers, and a tissue attachment device in which the macroscopic imager and confocal imager are each individually presented to the tissue utilizing the tissue attachment device in a predefined alignment, such that imaging locations of the confocal imager with respect to the tissue surface spatially correlate with macroscopic image. A user interface is operable on the computer to enable display of the macroscopic image on a display coupled to the computer, and to indicate a region within the macroscopic image associated with the field of view of the tissue imagable by the confocal imager. The user interface enables graphical tracking and targeting of imaging locations of the confocal imager in macroscopic image, and marking on the macroscopic image of the locations of confocal images with respect to the tissue surface.