Method and apparatus for performing modulation transfer function tests on endoscopes
US5841525A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 20, 1997 |
| Grant date | Nov 24, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 20, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01M11/0292
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In a method and apparatus for performing an MTF test on endoscopes, a beam of light is filtered through a sinusoidally-varying medium defining a transmittance which is approximately uniform along a first direction within the medium, and which varies sinusoidally along a second direction within the medium thereby generating a beam defining an intensity which varies sinusoidally in a predetermined direction. The filtered beam is transmitted through an endoscope from a first end through a second end of the endoscope, and a video system generates signals indicative of the optical intensity of the transmitted beam at each of a plurality of predetermined locations within the beam. Noise is filtered from the intensity signals, and the filtered intensity signals are in turn used in determining the MTF at each of a plurality of predetermined locations within the beam, thereby providing an indication of the optical performance characteristics of the endoscope.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.