Method and device for examining or imaging an interior surface of a cavity

1. A method for scanning an interior surface of a colon comprising:

acquiring an image of a colon using an imaging device positioned on a side wall of a colonoscope;

calculating a scanning speed of the imaging device by recognizing a colon segment in the acquired image and measuring an amount of time spent in the colon segment; and

generating an alert indicating whether the scanning speed exceeds a scanning speed threshold.

2. The method of 1 , wherein recognizing a colon segment comprises comparing the acquired image of the colon segment to a stored image in a database of distinctive colon segment features.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein distinctive colon segment features comprise colon flexures, colon geometric shapes, and folds.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein recognizing a colon segment comprises identifying, in the acquired image, areas of shading and/or contrast and a location of the colon lumen.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein recognizing a colon segment comprises identifying a geometric shape of the colon.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein recognizing a colon segment comprises comparing the geometric shape of the colon to a stored image in a database of colon geometric shapes.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein recognizing a colon segment comprises identifying a hepatic flexure, a splenic flexure, a transverse colon segment, an ascending portion of the colon, a transverse portion of the colon, and/or a haustral fold.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining whether to acquire additional images of a previously-scanned colon segment.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein determining whether to acquire additional images comprises determining whether previously-acquired images are unsuitable for image reconstruction.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a light source positioned on the sidewall of the colonoscope.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the imaging device comprises a lens and a chip sensor.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a video processor in communication with the imaging device.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a flattened rectangular view of an interior surface of the colon from the acquired image.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a ring-shaped image of the colon from the acquired image.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein generating a ring-shaped image comprises:

outlining a colon lumen in the acquired image;

excising the colon lumen from the acquired image; and

excising an outer edge of the acquired image to produce the ring-shaped image.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acquired image is a first image and calculating the scanning speed comprises determining a travel distance by which corresponding areas in the first image and a subsequently acquired second image have moved, and dividing the travel distance by a time interval that has lapsed between the first and second images.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the travel distance comprises a number of image pixels, where each pixel corresponds to a measurement of actual distance.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein determining the travel distance comprises measuring a size change of a geometric feature in both the first and second images.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alert is an audio and/or visual alert and generating the alert uses a processor.

20. A method for scanning an interior surface of a colon comprising:

acquiring first and second images of a colon using an imaging device positioned on a side wall of a colonoscope;

calculating a scanning speed of the imaging device by determining a distance traveled between the first and second images, and measuring an amount of time that has lapsed between the first and second images; and

generating an alert using a processor, the alert indicating whether the scanning speed exceeds a scanning speed threshold.