The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 13, 2003
Filed:
Aug. 23, 2001
Applicant:
Inventors:
Eric J. Seibel, Seattle, WA (US);
Quinn Y. J. Smithwick, Bothell, WA (US);
Thomas A. Furness, III, Seattle, WA (US);
Assignee:
University of Washington, Seattle, WA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/700 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/700 ;
Abstract
A minimally invasive, medical, image acquisition system outputs a light beam or pulse which illuminates a precise spot size. A plurality of photon detector detect returning photons from the object, including the spot. Pixel resolution is determined by the area of the illumination spot (and thus the lens configuration), rather than an area sensed by the detector. Depth enhancement is determined by correlating images detected by the respective detectors, or alternatively by a range finding method based on phase difference, time of flight, frequency or interferometry.