Enhanced augmented reality headset for medical imaging

1. An augmented reality, AR, system for monitoring a target in a medical procedure, comprising:

an optical contrast agent within the target;

at least one light source for illuminating the target, the at least one light source having a wavelength adapted to excite the optical contrast agent;

an AR headset comprising:

imaging means configured to detect light from at least the optical contrast agent within the target;

a near-eye display positioned between a wearer's eyes and the target, the display configured to display an image of the at least optical contrast agent based on the light detected by the imaging means, wherein the image overlays a wearer's view of the target through the near-eye display;

a depth sensor, configured to determine a distance between the headset and the target throughout the medical procedure; and

a processor, configured to:

determine a mismatch between the image of the target obtained from the imaging means and the wearer's view of the target based on the value of the distance measured by the depth sensor, a distance between a surface of the target and the optical contrast agent, and a position of the wearer's eyes;

determine the mismatch required for the wearer to perceive the images from the imaging means as a 3D object/volume/shape from the determined distance and the position of the wearer's eyes;

adjust the position of the image on the display such that it is corrected based on the determined mismatch such that the image matches the wearer's view of the target; and

repeat the determination of the mismatch and the adjustment of the position of the image throughout the medical procedure to take into account changes in the distance measured by the depth sensor throughout the medical procedure.

2. The AR system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the mismatch between the image of the target obtained from the imaging means and the wearer's view of the target by being configured to:

assign a position in space to act as an origin of a coordinate system;

generate a 3D model of the optical contrast agent within the target based on the light detected by the imaging means;

determine the position and orientation of the target relative to the coordinate system origin based on the distance measured by the depth sensor;

determine the position of the wearer's eyes relative to the coordinate system origin; and

determine the position and orientation of the headset relative to the coordinate system origin.

3. The AR system according to claim 2 , wherein the position and orientation of the headset relative to the coordinate system origin is the position and orientation of at least one of the near-eye display, the depth sensor and the imaging means.

4. The AR system according to claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to adjust the position of the image on the display such that it is corrected based on the determined mismatch by being configured to:

set the position of the 3D model of the target relative to the coordinate system origin;

render the 3D model of the target to form the adjusted image based on the determined positions and orientations of the target, and headset and the position of the wearer's eyes; and

display the adjusted image on the display.

5. The AR system according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging means comprises a plurality of cameras arranged into a stereoscopic imaging means.

6. The AR system of claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the mismatch between the image of the target obtained from the camera and the wearer's view of the target by being configured to:

determine the mismatch required for the wearer to perceive images from the stereoscopic imaging means as a 3D object from the determined distance and the position of the wearer's eyes.

7. The AR system according to any claim 1 , wherein the depth sensor is a time of flight depth sensor, a stereo sensor setup, a LIDAR sensor, a RADAR sensor or a multi-view geometry setup, or a multi-sensor setup.

8. The AR system according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging means comprises the depth sensor.

9. The AR system according to claim 1 , wherein the optical contrast agent is excitable by, and the light source has, a wavelength in the range 750 nm to 2500 nm.

10. The AR system according to claim 1 , wherein the optical contrast agent is selected from the group comprising a natural metalloprotein, an engineered metalloprotein and a fluorophore.

11. The AR system according to claim 10 , wherein the fluorophore is selected from the group comprising single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), high-pressure carbon monoxide conversion SWNTs (HiPCO-SWNTs), cyanine dyes, fluorophores with donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) scaffolds, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) particles, conjugated polymers, quantum dots and rare earth nanomaterials (RENPs).

12. A method of adjusting the position of an image in an augmented reality (AR) system for use in a medical procedure, the AR system comprising an optical contrast agent, at least one light source, an AR headset with stereoscopic imaging means, depth sensor and a processor, the method comprising:

illuminating a target containing the optical contrast agent with the at least one light source, the at least one light source having a wavelength suitable for exciting the optical contrast agent;

detecting light from the excited optical contrast agent in the target with the stereoscopic imaging means;

determining a distance between the headset and the target with depth sensor throughout a medical procedure;

displaying on a near-eye display of the AR headset positioned between a wearer's eyes and the target, an image of the target based on the detected light, wherein the image overlays a wearer's view of the target through the near-eye display, through the steps of:

determining a mismatch between the image of the target obtained from the imaging means and the wearer's view of the target based on the determined distance, a distance between a surface of the target and the optical contrast agent and a position of the wearer's eyes;

determine the mismatch required for the wearer to perceive the images from the imaging means as a 3D object/volume/shape from the determined distance and the position of the wearer's eyes; and

adjusting the position of the image on the display such that it is corrected based on the determined mismatch.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the step of determining the mismatch comprises the further steps of:

assigning a position in space to act as an origin of a coordinate system;

generating a 3D model of the optical contrast agent within the target based on the light detected by the imaging means;

determining the position and orientation of the target relative to the coordinate system origin based on the distance measured by the depth sensor;

determining the position of the wearer's eyes relative to the coordinate system origin; and

determining the position and orientation of the headset relative to the coordinate system origin.

14. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the imaging means comprises a plurality of cameras arranged into a stereoscopic imaging means, and wherein the step of determining the mismatch comprises the further step of:

determining the mismatch required for the wearer to perceive images from the stereoscopic imaging means as a 3D object from the determined distance and the position of the wearer's eyes.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium, that when executed on a processor is configured to perform the steps of claim 12 .