Method and apparatus for three-dimensional measurements of the outer ear shape
View Patent ↗A method, apparatus, and system for three-dimensional measurements of the outer ear shape, including the auditory canal and the concha. The apparatus may include a handpiece providing an earpiece dimensioned and shaped to occupy the auditory canal. The earpiece projects pattern lights, that can be selectively modulated onto an ear surface. The earpiece also provides flood illuminators and wide field-of-view imagers for capturing images generated by the projected light patterns. The handpiece provides a user interface for receiving one or more feedback modalities indicative of the location of a tip of the earpiece within the ear. A control unit located in the handpiece and a processing unit allow forming the three-dimensional measurements and their associated visualization.
1 . An ear scanner comprising:
a handpiece;
an earpiece extending from the handpiece, wherein the earpiece has a distal end dimensioned and shaped to occupy an ear canal;
a pattern projector configured to project a light pattern from said distal end;
one or more wide field-of-view (WFOV) imagers configured to capture, through said distal end, one or more images enabled by the light pattern; and
a WFOV flood illuminator configured to project a uniform intensity distribution of light from the distal end of the earpiece.
2 . The ear scanner of claim 1 , wherein the pattern projector is configured to modulate the light pattern spatially and temporally.
3 . The ear scanner of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface along an exterior surface of the handpiece, wherein the user interface is configured to enable one or more feedback modalities.
4 . The ear scanner of claim 3 , wherein each feedback modality propagates a visual, audible, or haptic output when said distal end of the earpiece is beyond a threshold distance from or within the ear canal.
5 . The ear scanner of claim 4 , wherein the user interface includes a touchscreen enabling user input.
6 . The ear scanner of claim 1 , wherein the one or more WFOV imagers comprises a plurality of WFOV imagers wherein the WFOV of each WFOV imager of the plurality of WFOV imagers overlaps another WFOV thereof.