FarLight proposes to design, fabricate, and test a new tool for medical diagnosis a flexible endoscope (fiberscope) that allows real-time dimensional measurements to be made. The measurements made with the use of the proposed device will be much more accurate than those made with existing methods that are based on the comparison of the object s size with the size of the surgical endoscopic forceps inserted through the instrument channel. The proposed device does not require long preliminary calibration as in the more accurate methods that have recently become available. With the proposed device, calibration is done in seconds. At any time during the diagnostic procedure and at any distance between the scope tip and the subject. The performance of the proposed scope will be superior to that of conventional scopes. The cost is expected to be the same as that of conventional scopes.
The proposed measuring fiberscope will greatly enhance the diagnostic usefulness of endoscopes and will wide application in medical markets. This technology could also find use in many non-medical imaging tools and applications, including borescopes, robotics, and manufacturing.
