A Novel In-Vivo Capsule Camera with High Resolution Optically Unwarpped 360-Degre

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Every year, diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract account for more than 30 million office visits in the United States alone. GI tract disorders are easy to cure in their early stages but are difficult to diagnose. Common exam procedures, such as endoscopy, are not adequate and reliable. Supposedly, endoscopy is to exam the walls of the digestive tract. However, existing endoscopes have a limited field-of-view (FOV). Even with a side window to view a portion of GI tract walls, a 360x panoramic view cannot be obtained simultaneously. Subsequently, limited FOV and lack of ability to see 360x surrounding areas may cause significant discomfort or damage to patients due to the need for turning entire endoscope to "look around", and lead to undesirable consequence of missing potential sites of disorders, e.g. hiatal hernia, gastritis, ulcers, polyps, stomach/colon cancer. The primary objectives of this SBIR effort are to develop a novel in-vivo capsule camera, dubbed as the Neo360 EyeTM, with high resolution optically unwarpped 360x imaging capability based on the unprecedented 360x optical imaging technique recently developed by the principal investigator of this SBIR. The proposed Neo360 Eye offers, for the first time, a simultaneous and unwarpped 360x panoramic FOV without using any moving parts. Unlike any existing 360x imaging systems in which the captured original 360x images have to be digitally unwarpped to be viewable, the unique optical design of the proposed Neo360 Eye enables an unprecedented optical unwarpping capability, thus eliminating artifacts introduced by digital re-sampling, preserving original image quality, increasing pixel utilization by 70% (fully use resolution, no wasted pixels), and abolishing the need for external computing resources to perform digital unwarpping and post-processing. The proposed Neo360TM Eye concept blasts an entirely new trail in the 360x imaging technology field. The proposed Neo360TM Eye product will greatly increase the efficiency, accuracy, and patient's comfort in GI tract diagnosis and treatment. It will also provide a unique tool for documentation, surgery planning, and training. Due to its simple structural and optical design, the Neo360 Eye can be manufactured at low cost with high reliability for practical field use environment. The proposed technology breakthrough in 360x imaging will inspire many researchers and practitioners to rethink the way video images are captured, also will motivate many commercial ventures to bring this elegant technology into market places. In addition to produce leapfrog performance advances for the existing capsule camera technology and many other medical diagnosis instruments (endoscopes, gastroscope, cystoscope, colonscope, etc.), potential applications of 360x imaging technology developed herein span a broad spectrum of pipe inspection, turbine engine diagnosis, smart transportation systems, security and surveillance, vehicle navigation, mobile robotics, teleconferencing, virtual reality products, on-line distribution of live images, event and location viewing, urban modeling, entertainment, sports webcasts, and many others.