Optical computing and robotics in biomedical imaging systems

Two-dimensional image correlation using optical computation is proposed as a fast and flexible technique for tracking target images in automated biomedical systems. A robotic laser delivery system can use the correlation technique to fixate the laser beam on a moving background. A small magnification change, which normally smears the profile of the output of digital correlators, can be adjusted in an optical correlator. The use of optical computing in highly computationally-oriented applications is crucial due to the inherently fast parallel processing nature of optical systems. The optical correlator is described, and the compensation process is discussed