Foveated endoscopic lens.

We present a foveated miniature endoscopic lens implemented by amplifying the optical distortion of the lens. The resulting system provides a high-resolution region in the central field of view and low resolution in the outer fields, such that a standard imaging fiber bundle can provide both the high resolution needed to determine tissue health and the wide field of view needed to determine the location within the inspected organ. Our proof of concept device achieves 7 ≈ 8 μm resolution in the fovea and an overall field of view of 4.6 mm. Example images and videos show the foveated lens' capabilities.