Abstract: A method for processing images acquired in real time through a medical device, said images being loaded into a buffer, comprising the steps of: stopping the loading of the images into the buffer, processing loaded images using an incremental algorithm, displaying successively intermediate results of the processing, resuming the loading and stopping the processing based on an evaluation of said intermediate results.

Abstract: An optical head includes: a point source producing an excitation beam, optical elements adapted to converge the optical beam into an excitation point located in a subsurface plane relative to the surface of a sample, the plane being perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical head; and elements for scanning the excitation point so as to define an observation field in the subsurface plane along two perpendicular scanning directions, a rapid online scanning and a slow columnar scanning. The invention includes micro-electrical mechanical systems designed to move in translation along a selected displacement at least one of the optical elements, which is mobile along a direction perpendicular to the optical axis so as to obtain at least one of the scanning directions. The invention provides the advantages of maintaining an axial illumination of the sample and of using a miniature head.

Abstract: A miniaturized optical head provided to equip the distal end of a beam of flexible optical fibers scanned by a laser beam, is designed to come in contact with a sample and to excite the sample confocally. This optical head includes elements for correcting spherical aberrations and focusing members. The focusing members include: at least a first lens (L4) of high convergence associated with a spherical or hemispherical lens (L5) arranged at the distal end of the optical head, and elements for correcting the axial and lateral chromatic aberration provided with a single divergent lens (3b) whose curvature is substantially centered on the pupil of the optical fiber beam and arranged at the exact distance for this pupil for which the conditions of lateral achromatization coincide with the conditions of axial achromatization; this divergent lens being associated with a second convergent lens (L3a) in the form of a doublet (L3).

Abstract: A system for carrying out fibered multiphoton microscopic imagery of a sample (10) for use in endoscopy or fluorescence microscopy includes: a femtosecond pulsed laser (1, 2) for generating a multiphoton excitation laser radiation; an image guide (8) having a number of optical fibers and permitting the sample to be illuminated by a point-by-point scanning in a subsurface plane; pre-compensating elements (4) for pre-compensating for dispersion effects of the excitation pulses in the image guide (8), these elements being situated between the pulsed laser and the image guide (8); scanning elements for directing, in succession, the excitation laser beam in a fiber of the image guide, and; in particular, an optical head (9) for focussing the excitation laser beam exiting the image guide in the sample (10).

Abstract: A method to inspect a solid organ in a subject includes introducing a needle in a predetermined area of the solid organ, inserting an optical probe through a lumen of the needle, and imaging the predetermined area using the optical probe. An optical probe to inspect a solid organ in a subject, the optical probe being intended to be positioned in the solid organ through a needle, the optical probe includes an optical fiber bundle, a ferule to protect the distal tip of the optical fiber bundle, the ferule comprising a shank and a head, and a sheath wrapping the fiber bundle and the shank, wherein the head of the ferule has a length adapted for the optical probe to image the solid organ while keeping the sheath inside the needle.

Abstract: An intracranial implant to position a fiber bundle to a specified region of a brain of an animal. The implant may include a base support to be fixed to a skull of the animal over an orifice drilled in the skull, a hollow conduit arranged through the base support to guide the fiber bundle to the brain of the animal through the drilled orifice and a first locking member arranged on the base support, to cooperate with a ferrule of the fiber bundle, the first locking member configured to lock the fiber bundle to the specified region of the brain of the animal.

Abstract: A method for imaging a tissue includes collecting a light signal from at least part of said tissue, using a fiber optic probe for fluorescence imaging, wherein the fiber optic probe comprises a plurality of optic fibers, and wherein a distal tip of the fiber optic probe is placed at a distance from said tissue, said imaging being made confocal at a proximal tip of said fiber optic probe. A fluorescence imaging system includes an endoscope equipped with a working channel, in which a fiber optic probe has been inserted, wherein the fiber optic probe is movable between a retracted position and at least one position of extension, said fiber optic probe comprising a plurality of optic fibers for performing imaging of a tissue, said imaging being confocal via a processor located at a proximal tip of said fiber optic probe.

Abstract: A connector to connect a fiber bundle probe to a light injection module including a tightening cam having an opening of a specified shape adapted to receive the fiber bundle probe, a cam driving coupled to the tightening cam, wherein the tightening cam is configured to translate in response to rotation of the cam driving until the tightening cam is blocked, at least one spring extending between the tightening cam and the cam driving, wherein the at least one spring is configured to resist when the cam driving is actuated by rotation and the tightening cam is blocked, and a locking mechanism to lock the cam driving into a selected position.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing a fluorescent fiber image of a sample, wherein a sample is scanned with the aid of an excitation signal; the fluorescent signal emanating from the sample is detected, wherein the excitation signal and fluorescent signal use the same optical path; the optical path is used to excite at least two fluorophores contained in the sample; a final image is produced, including areas that are colored according to the at least two fluorophores. The multimarking according to the invention makes it possible to simultaneously acquire two images in two different wavelength bands. The system according to the invention can comprise a spectrometer for spectral quantification of the fluorescent signal.

Abstract: A method for processing images acquired in real time through a medical device, said images being loaded into a buffer, comprising the steps of: stopping the loading of the images into the buffer, processing loaded images using an incremental algorithm, displaying successively intermediate results of the processing, resuming the loading and stopping the processing based on an evaluation of said intermediate results.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a mosaicing method taking into account motion distortions, irregularly sampled frames and non-rigid deformations of the imaged tissue. The invention relates to a method for mosaicing frames from a video sequence acquired from a scanning device such as a scanning microscope, the method comprising the steps of: a) compensating for motion and motion distortion due to the scanning microscope, b) applying a global optimisation of inter-frame registration to align consistently the frames c) applying a construction algorithm on the registered frames to construct a mosaic, and d) applying a fine frame-to-mosaic non rigid registration. The method is based on a hierarchical framework that is able to recover a globally consistent alignment of the input frames, to compensate for the motion distortions and to capture the non-rigid deformations.

Abstract: A method to process an image acquired through an optical-fiber guide includes acquiring a first reference image through the optical-fiber guide, acquiring a second calibration image through the optical-fiber guide, spatially identifying each fiber of the optical-fiber guide of the second calibration image in a first detection map, acquiring a recalibration image through the optical-fiber guide, determining a geometrical transformation to make the recalibration image coincide with the first reference image, deriving a new detection map spatially identifying each fiber of the optical-fiber guide of the recalibration image, wherein the new detection map is derived using the geometrical transformation and the first detection map, and individually processing zones of an acquired image corresponding to each fiber of the optical-fiber guide using the new detection map.

Abstract: A mosaicing method taking into account motion distortions, irregularly sampled frames and non-rigid deformations of the imaged tissue. The method for mosaicing frames from a video sequence acquired from a scanning device such as a scanning microscope, includes the steps of: a) compensating for motion and motion distortion due to the scanning microscope, b) applying a global optimization of inter-frame registration to align consistently the frames c) applying a construction algorithm on the registered frames to construct a mosaic, and d) applying a fine frame-to-mosaic non rigid registration. The method is based on a hierarchical framework that is able to recover a globally consistent alignment of the input frames, to compensate for the motion distortions and to capture the non-rigid deformations.

Abstract: An imaging device including an illumination module including at least one emitter for emitting at least one excitation beam, a scanning and injection module including an image guide, a proximal end and a distal end of which are linked by a plurality of optical fibers, and a scanning and injection optical system configured to alternately inject the at least one excitation beam into an optical fiber of the image guide from the proximal end of the image guide, and a detection module including at least one detector for detecting at least one luminous flux collected at the distal end of the image guide. At least one of the illumination module and the detection module is optically conjugated with the scanning and injection module by a conjugating optical fiber.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device, for measuring the contrast of fringes in a Michelson interferometer at full field, comprising a Wollaston prism for diverting two perpendicular incident polarizations into two different emergent directions, said diverting means being arranged within the interferometer as substitute for a single polarizer. The device is of application to a Michelson interferometer used in an OCT tomographical system and comprising means for obtaining interferometric contrast without use of a modulation technique or synchronous detection methods.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for measuring the speed of a particle such as a red blood cell moving inside a flow such as a flow of the blood, using a light scanning microscope. The inventive method comprises the following steps: acquisition of an image by x and y light scanning on a plane containing the object; detection on the plane (x, y) of a mark on the plane (x, y); estimation of the speed vg of the object from the gradient thus determined.

Abstract: A method for processing an image acquired through a guide consisting of a plurality of optical fibers includes, for each optical fiber, isolating on the acquired image a zone corresponding to the optical fiber, locally processing each zone individually to correct the photon flux detected in each optical fiber, then reconstructing the acquired image by eliminating the pattern caused by the optical fiber. The method also includes a sampling process for obtaining, for each optical fiber and from a sampling image, a sample injection rate which can be used for reconstructing the acquired images. The method also includes a prior step which consists in detecting the fibers from a target.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the fabric using an acquisition system that includes at acquisition of in-vivo fluorescence imaging from a least one optical fibre exciting the fabric by scanning light beam. According to the invention, the system is used to detect fluorescence signals emitted by the Methylene Blue present in the fabric.

Abstract: An imaging device includes an illumination module comprising at least one emitter for emitting at least one excitation beam; a scanning and injection module comprising an image guide, a proximal end and a distal end of which are linked by a plurality of optical fibers; a scanning and injection optical system configured to alternately inject the at least one excitation beam into an optical fiber of the image guide from the proximal end of the image guide; a detection module comprising a detector for detecting a luminous flux collected at the distal end of the image guide, wherein at least one of the illumination module and the detection module is optically conjugated with the scanning and injection module using a conjugating optical fiber.

Abstract: An endoscopy device includes several light guides (1, 2, 3), each light guide having one or more optical fibres. The light guides are coupled with a sweeping system (4) arranged to direct an excitation light beam in alternation in one of the fibres of the guides from the proximal end of the guide including the one of the fibres. In this way, the proximal ends of the guides may make use of the same sweeping system, whereas the distal ends of the guides may be installed simultaneously in different zones of interest of an object or animal (10) under study for an almost simultaneous observation of the zones of interest. The invention also relates to an endoscopy method used in a device according to the invention. A device and a method according to the invention may be applied to quasi-simultaneous reflectance, fluorescence, multi-photon imaging of several areas of interest.