Medical imaging device

1. A medical imaging device comprising:

an optical imaging module operable to generate image data defining an image of a region of a body part by acquiring samples whose values are indicative of an optical property of the body part at respective sample locations in the region, the samples being acquired by measuring an intensity of light that is or is based on light transmitted through the body part, or light that is or is based on light reflected from the imaged region of the body part, and using a mapping to map the acquired samples to corresponding pixels of the image such that an indication of the sample location of each sample is mapped to a pixel location of a corresponding pixel of the image;

a control module to control the optical imaging module to generate the image data by acquiring a first sequence of samples whose corresponding pixel locations in the image follow a path that is spanned by pixels corresponding to the first sequence of samples and extends over a greater portion of the image than an arrangement in an array of a sequence of pixels corresponding to a second sequence of samples that the optical imaging module is operable to acquire, wherein a sum of distances between adjacent pixels in the sequence of pixels is equal to a length of the path;

a registration module configured to register the image against a reference image comprising an image of a part of the region; and

an updating module configured to generate an updated reference image by updating the reference image to include the image data of the image that has been registered against the reference image.

2. The medical imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the control module is configured to determine the sample locations at which the optical imaging module acquires the samples in the first sequence based on a function which defines one of a spiral, an ellipse, an elliptical spiral, a Lissajous figure, and a hypotrochoid in a plane.

3. The medical imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the registration module is configured to register the image against the reference image by calculating a Weighted Normalized Cross-correlation between the image and the reference image.

4. The medical imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the registration module is configured to register the image against the reference image by calculating a Weighted Normalized Cross-correlation between the image and the reference image, and wherein the updating module is configured to generate the updated reference image provided that a maximum of the calculated Weighted Normalized Cross-correlation between the image and the reference image exceeds a threshold.

5. The medical imaging device according to claim 4 , wherein the threshold is a first threshold, and the registration module is configured to register the image against the reference image by determining a translational difference between the image and the reference image, and wherein the updating module is configured to generate the updated reference image provided that the maximum of the calculated Weighted Normalized Cross-correlation between the image and the reference image exceeds the first threshold, and the translational determined difference exceeds a second threshold.

6. The medical imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the optical imaging module, the control module,

the registration module and the updating module are configured to perform the acquiring and mapping of the samples, the registering of the image against the reference image, and the generating of the updated reference image in an iterative process, such that the image defined by the image data generated by the optical imaging module in each iteration of the iterative process is registered by the registration module against, and subsequently used by the updating module to update, the reference image updated in a previous iteration of the iterative process.

7. The medical imaging device according to claim 6 , wherein the control module is configured to control the optical imaging module to generate image data defining a plurality of images of different respective regions of the body part that are offset relative to one another by acquiring a plurality of sequences of the samples, wherein the pixels to which the samples of the acquired sequences of samples are mapped have pixel locations that follow a same path in each of the images.

8. The medical imaging device according to claim 6 , wherein the control module is configured to control the optical imaging module to generate image data defining a plurality of images of the region of the body part by acquiring a plurality of sequences of the samples, wherein the pixels to which the samples of the acquired sequences of samples are mapped have pixel locations that follow a different path in each of the images.

9. The medical imaging device according to claim 8 , wherein:

the control module is configured to keep a record of a number of times each of a plurality of pixels of the reference image has been updated during performance of the iterative process; and in each iteration of the iterative process:

the control module is configured to calculate a respective degree of correlation between the record and each of a plurality of candidate imaging templates, wherein each candidate imaging template comprises a different predicted image of a candidate region of the body part to be imaged by the optical imaging module, the optical imaging module being operable to generate, in accordance with each of the candidate imaging templates, image data defining an image of a respective candidate region of the body part by acquiring samples whose values are indicative of the optical property of the body part at respective sample locations in the candidate region, and mapping the acquired samples to corresponding pixels of the image such that the sample value and an indication of the sample location of each sample are mapped to a pixel value and a pixel location of a corresponding pixel of the image, wherein the optical imaging module is configured to use the mapping to determine sample locations in the candidate imaging region at which the samples are to be acquired;

the control module is configured to select, based on calculated degrees of correlation, a respective imaging template from the plurality of candidate imaging templates;

the control module is configured to control the optical imaging module to generate image data using the selected imaging template;

the registration module is configured to register, against the reference image, the image defined by the image data that has been generated in accordance with the selected imaging template; and

the updating module is configured to:

update the reference image to include the image data of the image that has been registered against the reference image; and

update the record using the image data of the image that has been registered against the reference image.

10. The medical imaging device according to claim 9 , wherein, in each of the iterations, the control module is configured to select, as the respective imaging template, an imaging template from the plurality of candidate imaging templates whose calculated degree of correlation with the record is between a highest of the calculated degrees of correlation and a lowest of the calculated degrees of correlation, and preferably a median of the calculated degrees of correlation.

11. The medical imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the medical imaging device is a retinal scanner for scanning a region of a retina of an eye, and wherein the optical imaging module is operable to generate image data defining an image of the region of the retina by acquiring samples whose values are indicative of the optical property of the retina at respective scan locations in the region.

12. The medical imaging device according to claim 11 , wherein the retinal scanner comprises one of a scanning laser ophthalmoscope, SLO, an optical coherence tomography, OCT, scanner and a combined SLO-OCT scanner.

13. A method performed by a processor of a medical imaging device, comprising an optical imaging module which is operable to generate image data defining an image of a region of a body part by acquiring samples whose values are indicative of an optical property of the body part at respective sample locations in the region, the samples being acquired by measuring an intensity of light that is or is based on light transmitted through the body part, or light that is or is based on light reflected from the imaged region of the body part, and using a mapping to map the acquired samples to corresponding pixels of the image such that an indication of the sample location of each sample is mapped to a pixel location of a corresponding pixel of the image, the method comprising:

controlling the optical imaging module to generate the image data by acquiring a first sequence of samples whose corresponding pixel locations in the image follow a path that is spanned by pixels corresponding to the first sequence of samples and extends over a greater portion of the image than an arrangement in an array of a sequence of pixels corresponding to a second sequence of samples that the optical imaging module is operable to acquire, wherein a sum of distances between adjacent pixels in the sequence of pixels is equal to a length of the path;

registering the image against a reference image comprising an image of a part of the region; and

generating an updated reference image by updating the reference image to include the image data of the image that has been registered against the reference image.

14. A computer program which, when executed by a processor of a medical imaging device which further comprises an optical imaging module operable to generate image data defining an image of a region of a body part by acquiring samples whose values are indicative of an optical property of the body part at respective sample locations in the region, the samples being acquired by measuring an intensity of light that is or is based on light transmitted through the body part, or light that is or is based on light reflected from the imaged region of the body part, and mapping the acquired samples to corresponding pixels of the image such that an indication of the sample location of each sample is mapped to a pixel location of a corresponding pixel of the image, causes the processor to perform a method comprising:

controlling the optical imaging module to generate the image data by acquiring a first sequence of samples whose corresponding pixel locations in the image follow a path that is spanned by pixels corresponding to the first sequence of samples and extends over a greater portion of the image than an arrangement in an array of a sequence of pixels corresponding to a second sequence of samples that the optical imaging module is operable to acquire, wherein a sum of distances between adjacent pixels in the sequence of pixels is equal to a length of the path;

registering the image against a reference image comprising an image of a part of the region; and

generating an updated reference image by updating the reference image to include the image data of the image that has been registered against the reference image.