US 12,276,612 B2
Active illumination-based multispectral contamination sanitation inspection system
Moon S Kim, Ashton, MD (US); Jianwei Qin, Ellicott City, MD (US); Diane E Chan, Odenton, MD (US); Lyndel Meinhardt, College Park, MD (US); Insuck Baek, Burtonsville, MD (US); Kenneth Barton, Palm City, FL (US); and Fartash Vasefi, Sherman Oaks, CA (US)
Assigned to The United States of America, as Represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC (US); and SafetySpect Inc., Sherman Oaks, CA (US)
Filed by The United States of America, as Represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC (US); and SafetySpect Inc., Sherman Oaks, CA (US)
Filed on Nov. 17, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/529,019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0152232 A1, May 18, 2023
Int. Cl. G01N 21/64 (2006.01); A61L 2/10 (2006.01); A61L 2/28 (2006.01); G01N 21/94 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 21/6486 (2013.01) [A61L 2/10 (2013.01); A61L 2/28 (2013.01); G01N 21/94 (2013.01)] 25 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A handheld contamination sanitation inspection system (CSIS), the CSIS comprising:
at least one active illumination light;
at least one multispectral camera, the camera comprising a chip-based multispectral camera; and,
a processor controlling the at least one active illumination light and the at least one multispectral camera;
wherein, the CSIS is structured so that as a user directs the CSIS toward a target inspection area in various ambient light, the illumination light is pulsing with controlled pulse width, the processor directs the at least one multispectral camera synchronized with the pulsed illumination to acquire a multispectral ambient light image of the inspection area, and immediately thereafter the processor pulses the at least one active illumination light, and the at least one multispectral camera simultaneously acquires a multispectral illuminated image of the inspection area, the processor then subtracting the multispectral ambient light image from the multispectral illuminated image to produce a multispectral fluorescence image of the inspection area.