Omer Wagner, PhD1, Asaf Shahmoon, PhD1, Zeev Zalevsky, Prof2. 1Z square, 2Bar Ilan University
Objective of the technology: The recent development of micro-endoscopic imaging tools opened a new door of medical modalities and opportunities of capturing images in a minimally invasive way. The main still remaining problem is that although the micro-endoscope can reach close to the desired location, the imaging resolution is still limited. This is due to the scattering of the blood and other residual liquids separating the endoscopic tip and the inspected object. Here we aim to show, for the first time, a wavelength-multiplexing based super-resolving concept that is integrated with the multi-core micro-endoscope (sub-mm diameter) to allow high resolution imaging through blood for liquid thickness of even more than 1cm.
Description of the technology: Our innovative solution involves usage of temporally-pulsed and spectrally wide-band laser. The laser should have short temporal pulses in the pico-sec regime and at its output we have special grating and a spatial 2-D transmission mask allowing to project wavelengths’ dependent high-resolution spatial orthogonal encoding patterns (different spatial patterns for each wavelength). The short temporal pulses allow the high-resolution encoding pattern to reach the inspected object through the scattering blood medium (ballistic photons) without being spatially blurred. The light is intentionally collected via low resolution optics (small NA). The high-resolution reconstruction is obtained by passing the collected low-resolution data through a similar grating and 2-D mask. They multiply each wavelength dependent low-resolution image via its corresponding high resolution spatial decoding pattern. Thus, the grating and the 2-D spatial mask through which the light is collected do an all-optical decoding. Then we are summing all the images together to form the super-resolved reconstruction of the inspected object that was imaged through the highly scattering blood medium.
Preliminary results: We will present our novel conceptual design for the micro-endoscopy based super-resolving imaging module and then validate it via thorough numerical investigation as well as via experimental optical bench testing and validation. We will demonstrate the capability of performing high resolution imaging through blood medium of thickness of above 1cm and characterize the performance envelope.
Conclusions: Here we present the first ever design of portable super-resolving micro-endoscopic imaging module providing high imaging resolution (HD pixels-wise resolution and high NA of the imaging lens) despite of its ultra-thin sub-mm external diameter. All this is obtainable even when the imaging is done via highly scattering medium as blood with thickness of above 1cm.
Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.
Abstract ID: 92099
Program Number: P421
Presentation Session: Poster Session (Non CME)
Presentation Type: Poster