OPERATING MICROSCOPE PROVIDING AN IMAGE OF AN OBSCURED OBJECT

摘要

An improved microscope features real time generation of combined visible and converted images. The converted image is of an object which is obscured by a layer of material which is opaque to visible light, but which is substantially transparent to non-visible pentrating radiation. In an operating microscope application, the invisible penetrating radiation may be radiation of wavelength greater than 620 nm, to which blood is transparent. The converted visible image made using the reflected pentrating radiation will show tissues underlying a layer of blood, which otherwise would obscure the tissues from being viewed by a surgeon. The converted and visible images are combined to generate a combined image which is more useful than would be the reflected penetrating radiation image alone. Image enhancement techniques may be employed to enhance the converted image.