Pixelated tunable color filter

Commercial color cameras are only capable of capturing red, green, and blue images. While these three spectral regions match well to human vision, they are extremely limiting in biomedical imaging and microscopy. We have invented a color camera technology that captures images at four colors in the same exposure by creating a tunable color filter array. The spectral location of the four colors can be tuned to match fluorescence emission spectra or hemoglobin absorption features. The spectral locations can range from the near ultra-violet through the near infrared all with the same image sensor. Our technology involves integrating a custom made dispersive optic onto a commercially available polarization resolving camera and has minimal reduction in spatial resolution or other imaging artifacts.

U.S. Patent(s) Issued: WO2014190228A1