Fiber pattern removal and image reconstruction method for snapshot mosaic hyperspectral endoscopic images

Hyperspectral endoscopic imaging has the potential to enhance clinical diagnostics and outcome. Most commercial endoscopes utilize imaging fiber bundles to transmit the collected signal from the patient to the medical operator. These bundles consist of several fiber cores surrounded by a cladding layer creating comb structure-like artifacts, which complicate further analysis, both spatially and spectrally. Here we present an optical fiber pattern removal algorithm which we applied to hyperspectral bronchoscopic images robustly and quantitatively without the need for specific optical or electrical hardware. We validate the performance of the pattern removal by using a novel hyperspectral phasor approach. This algorithm can be generalized to all forms of fiber bundle hyperspectral endoscopy.