Single viewpoint panoramic imaging technology for colonoscopy

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Abstract Colon cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide. Colonoscopy is the preferred screening method at an estimated annual cost of about $24 billion in the US. Unfortunately, many lesions are missed because they can remain hidden from view behind folds and flexures of the colon. Current methods of increasing the field of view are ineffective and some are very expensive, preventing the adoption of these methods into clinical practice. In this proposal, we propose to develop a single viewpoint panoramic imaging technology which can provide 360-degree side-view of the colon. The proposed panoramic imaging system consists of an array of imaging systems which share the same viewpoint, addressing the key barrier in reconstructing the panoramic image from multiple imaging systems. We will develop a unique monolithic opto-mechanical design to integrate all subsystems precisely without active alignment. The proposed single viewpoint panoramic imaging system can be either integrated to the new colonoscope so that the colonoscope will have standard forward view and 360- degree panoramic side-view, or built as a snap-on attachment for the current commercial colonoscopes to provide 360-degree panoramic side-view. To demonstrate the imaging capability of the proposed single viewpoint panoramic system, we will first develop and characterize a single viewpoint panoramic attachment for the standard colonoscope, and then evaluate the performance in detecting polyps and compare to a standard colonoscope. The proposed single viewpoint panoramic imaging system will maximize the detection of polyps and substantially reduce the incidence of colon cancer. It will benefit the patients and society in five-fold: reducing incidence of colon cancer, reducing the chance of ‘interval’ cancer, decreasing overall morbidity and mortality, increasing the interval between colonoscopies, and reducing the economic burden of this disease.