A three-dimensional deformable liquid lens array for directional and wide angle laparoscopic imaging

Most of currently employed laparoscopes use a single and non-tunable solid lens to visualize the surgical environment during minimal invasive interventions. These devices are limited due to the loss of depth perception, fixed view direction and narrow field-of-view (FOV). In this study, a three-dimensional deformable liquid lens array with adaptive focusing and directional view capability is developed. Miniature liquid lenses sealed by deformable membranes are arranged on a flexible substrate. During the operation, the flexible substrate where the liquid lenses reside is driven by hydraulic pressure and bulges into different curvatures, which results in the maximal angular difference of the optical axes of individual lenses in the array from 0° to 45°. The focal length of each lens can be simultaneously tuned from 64.3mm to 2.1mm. At the directional view of 45° and focal length of 2.1mm, the overall FOV exceeds 150°. This work promises the potential of directional and wide angle laparoscopic imaging where space constraint is a concern.