A Novel and Inexpensive Apparatus to test the Optical Performances of Clinical Fiber-optic Endoscopes

摘要

A novel and inexpensive system devoted to test the optical performances of clinical fiberscopes has been proposed. The apparatus digitizes the images transmitted through the endoscopes coherent fiber bundle and performs a luminosity measurement which quantifies the optical decay due to clinical utilization and/or the restoration of the original optical conditions after servicing. A resolution and contrast analysis of the fiberscope imaging field has been carried out preliminarily with the Modulation Transfer function (MTF) technique. Two original measurement methods, specifically developed to provide clinical personnel, either medical or technical, with a quantitative evaluation about endoscopes optical performance have been proposed. The two original parameters have been called Signal to Defect Ratio (SDR) and Quality of Vision (QV).