Omnivision makes the world’s smallest commercially available camera sensor. (Image: Omnivision)
A specialist medical camera sensor, the size of a grain of sand, has won the Guinness World Record for being ‘the smallest commercially available image sensor’. California-based OmniVision Technologies made the OV6948 sensor that measures 0.575mm x 0.575mm X 0.232mm and has an image array capable of capturing 200 x 200 resolution video at up to 30 frames per second (fps).
The company has said that the camera sensor has been initially developed for small-outer-diameter medical endoscopes and can be designed into a wide range of applications, including dental, veterinary, IoT, industrial, wearable and forensic devices.
The image sensor has a 1/36-inch optical format and offers low-light sensitivity of 1000 mV/lux-sec. The image sensor has a pixel size of 1.75 microns, an analogue signal output, and needs a single 3.3V power supply. It can operate at -20-degree to +70-degree centigrade junction temperature and the stable image is produced between 0-degree to +50-degree junction temperature.
As per the company, “The sensor enables easy integration with a 4-pin interface and analogue data output, capable of data transmission of up to 4 meters with minimal signal noise.”
Omnivision says that due to the sensor’s low power consumption, less heat is generated at the distal tip of the endoscope. This, in turn, improves patient comfort and permits longer-duration procedures.
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Omnivision has designed the OVM6948-RALA camera integrating the OV6948 image sensor. The camera can fit down the smallest of veins in the human body helping surgeons with the surgical procedures. The camera unit offers a 120-degree wide-angle of view, offering a depth of field range from 3mm to 30mm.
