Time-of-Flight 3-D endoscopy.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Optical Engineering
• Biomedical Devices

Background:

• Traditional endoscopy lacks depth perception.
• Advancements in Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras offer real-time distance measurement.
• Integrating ToF technology into endoscopic systems presents a novel approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the feasibility of Time-of-Flight (ToF) measurement principle using endoscope optics.
• To develop and validate a comprehensive calibration and post-processing routine for ToF endoscopy.
• To pave the way for a new generation of 3-D endoscopes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized off-the-shelf ToF camera sensors for per-pixel, on-chip distance acquisition.
• Adapted illumination units and image sensors without modifying endoscope optics.
• Conducted extensive in-vitro experiments to verify applicability and performance.

Main Results:

• Successfully implemented the ToF measurement principle within endoscope optics.
• Achieved a depth measurement precision of 0.89 mm.
• Acquired 3072 3-D points at 20 frames per second in real-time.

Conclusions:

• The integration of ToF technology into endoscopy is viable and effective.
• This advancement facilitates the development of next-generation rigid and flexible 3-D endoscopes.
• The developed system offers marker-less, real-time 3-D imaging capabilities for endoscopic procedures.