US 6,659,940 · Granted 2003-12-09
The Tiny Image Sensor That Fits Inside Ultra-Thin Endoscopes
Imagine trying to fit a camera into a tube so narrow it can slide through your veins. This patent solves that problem by warping the image before it hits the sensor, so a super-compact camera can still capture everything a doctor needs to see inside your body.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers an endoscope design where a specialized image sensor is paired with an optical distorter—a lens or mirror system that warps incoming light before it reaches the sensor. What's protected here is the specific arrangement of how the distorter reshapes the image data so that a physically small sensor can be squeezed into the tight confines of a medical scope without losing image quality or field of view.
Why it matters
Endoscopes need to be as thin as possible so doctors can insert them into narrow passages and blood vessels without causing damage. A standard camera sensor is too large and rigid for that job. By baking image distortion into the hardware itself, this patent enabled manufacturers to build endoscopes with smaller tip diameters while preserving diagnostic image quality—a significant engineering constraint in minimally invasive medicine.
Real-world use
When a cardiologist threads a scope into an artery to inspect a patient's heart, the tiny distorted sensor on the tip is capturing and transmitting the warped image back to a monitor where software straightens it out for viewing.
Original USPTO abstract
An endoscope having restricted dimensions and comprising at least one image gatherer, at least one image distorter and at least one image sensor shaped to fit within said limited dimensions, and wherein said image distorter is operable to distort an image received from said image gatherer so that the image is sensible at said shaped image sensor.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,659,940
- Filing date
- 2001-04-05
- Grant date
- 2003-12-09
- Assignee
- C2Cure Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- ADLER DORON
- CPC class
- A61B6/481
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