Abstract
Flexible micro-endoscopes with dimensions of as small as 1.0 mm in outer diameter and as long as 3.0 m in length produce images that have a 'honeycomb' pattern due to the spaces between the individual collection optical fibers contained in the imaging conduit. This pattern is found to exhibit a definable spatial frequency that is discrete from that of the desired information or the actual images of interest. By applying a filter and by sharpening the contrast between adjacent pixels, it was possible to remove the honeycomb pattern without significant degradation to the visual quality of the image. The technique described employs Fourier analysis to analyze the image so as to define the 'noise' component. Then a discrete band-reject frequency filter was applied to both the original and sharpened images, resulting in the effective removal of the honeycomb pattern. The advantages and limitations of the image processing technique are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 186-194 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
| Volume | 3165 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Event | Applications of Soft Computing - San Diego, CA, United States Duration: Jul 28 1997 → Jul 28 1997 |
Keywords
- Coherent fiber bundles
- Fiber optics
- Fourier filtering
- Honeycomb patterns
- Micro-endoscopy
- Spectral analysis