Patent ID: 7990545

Claim:
A method for determining a contour of a subject using an in-vivo measurement system having a stage supporting the subject, control elements connected to a controller, and an imaging system having an optical axis, the method comprising the steps of: generating, by a projector, rays incident on the subject supported on the stage of the in-vivo measurement system for producing a light pattern on the subject, wherein the rays incident on the subject for producing the light pattern are directed substantially in the direction of the optical axis of the imaging system of the in-vivo measurement system; incrementally moving, by the control elements, at least one of the stage and the object plane of the imaging system to a plurality of positions substantially in a direction of an optical axis of the imaging system; taking, by the imaging system, images of the subject at each of the stage positions; analyzing, by the controller, sharpness of focus for each of a plurality of points in the light pattern to determine the heights of each of the plurality of points; and constructing, by the controller, a contour of the subject from the height values.