An endoscope includes a shaft having proximal and distal ends and a longitudinal axis therebetween. A handle is coupled to the proximal end of the shaft, and an image sensor is carried on the distal end of the shaft. A channel extends through at least a distal shaft portion and has a channel diameter, and a section of the channel is re-configurable between a constricted shape and a non-constricted shape to accommodate tools introduced therethrough. The combined diagonal dimension and channel diameter is usually greater than the outer shaft diameter. The image sensor may be connected to a connector on the housing by a first slack flex circuit and a lights source on the shaft may be connected to a connector on the housing by a second slack flex circuit.

An endoscope camera head includes: a main body unit having an irregular tubular shape made of a metal or an alloy and including a hollow portion that is airtightly concealed; an imaging unit accommodated in the hollow portion of the main body unit and configured to generate an image signal based on light from an object; and an operating unit configured to output an operation signal for operating the imaging unit. The operating unit includes an input unit located at a position extending over a first face and a second face adjacent each other, of a surface of the main body unit, and configured to receive an input of the operation signal from an outside, and a fixing unit configured to fix the input unit to the main body unit.

A video imaging system is provided. The video imaging system is configured to maintain a video image displayed on a display unit in a predetermined orientation based upon a use. The video imaging system includes an endoscope, a camera head unit, a camera control unit configured to determine a focal distance, and a display control unit. The display control unit is configured to process the focal distance to determine a use. The use is processed by the display control unit so as to maintain the video image in the predetermined orientation. The contextual information may be focal distance, image data or endoscopic orientation.

An optical scope includes a body and an elongated shaft. The shaft distal end holds an optical assembly including an imaging lens with a field of view of at least 90 degrees. An LED is coupled to the body and has an output numerical aperture (NA) providing a critical angle larger than the field of view. A first pair of fiber bundles have proximal ends receiving light from the LED with distal ends presented at the shaft distal face, and an NA providing a critical angle less than the field of view. A second pair of fiber bundles also receive light from the LED with distal ends having at the shaft distal face, and have an NA providing a critical angle at least as large as the field of view. The bundles are positioned around imaging lens such that they create a light having a desired intensity profile and properties.

The present disclosure provides a tip camera system that includes a probe including a probe body and a probe tip, an optical fiber light source, and an optical fiber positioned within the probe body that emits light at the probe tip to illuminate a local view of an interior of an eye. The system further includes a tip camera positioned in the probe tip and includes a sensor that detects light emitted by the optical fiber and reflected off the interior of the eye, and that sends a signal corresponding to the detected light to a processor. The system also includes an image processing system that includes the processor and that executes instructions to produce a tip camera digital image of the eye. The system also includes a digital display that displays the tip camera digital image of the eye.

The disclosed subject matter includes devices and systems for extending the imaging capability of swept, confocally aligned planar excitation (SCAPE) microscopes to in vivo applications. In embodiments, the SCAPE microscope can be implemented as an endoscopic or laparoscopic inspection instrument.

An endoscope objective optical system consists of in order from an object side, a front group having a negative refractive power, an aperture stop, and a rear group having a positive refractive power, wherein either the front group or the rear group includes one or more than one cemented lens, and the cemented lens includes a lens having a positive refractive power and a lens having a negative refractive power, and the rear group includes a positive lens which is a single lens, on the object side, and the following conditional expressions (1), (2), (3), and (4) are satisfied.
1.1<Ih/ft<1.8(1)
ff/ft<0.9(2)
45<d1(3)
LOs/Ih<1.5(4) where, Ih denotes the maximum image height, ft denotes a focal length of an overall endoscope objective optical system, ff denotes a focal length of the front group, d1 denotes Abbe's number for a glass material of the lens having a positive refractive power, on the object side of the rear group, and LOs denotes a distance from a first surface on the object side of the endoscope objective optical system up to the aperture stop, and here the first surface on the object side of the endoscope objective optical system is a lens surface positioned nearest to object in the endoscope objective optical system.

An imaging unit used in an oblique-viewing endoscope in which an endoscope axis along a longitudinal direction of a distal end portion of the endoscope and an optical axis of a lens unit cross along an observation direction includes: a semiconductor package including a light receiving surface arranged perpendicularly to the optical axis of the lens unit, an imaging device converting an optical image formed by the lens unit into an image signal, and a sensor electrode on a rear surface; a first circuit board including a first connecting electrode on a front surface and connected to the sensor electrode, and a second connecting electrode on a rear surface on which an electronic part is mounted; and a second circuit board including a first region including a third connecting electrode connected to the second connecting electrode, and a second region including a cable connecting electrode connected to a cable.

An optical path deflecting prism for endoscope which is used for observing an object in an oblique direction, includes a first prism and a second prism, and the first prism and the second prism are cemented. The first prism has a first polished surface and a second polished surface. The first reflecting surface is a mirror surface having a mirror coating applied to a polished surface of a flat plate, and is fixed by gluing to the fifth polished surface of the second prism upon adjusting an angle so as to correct an optical-axis shift which occurs due to a manufacturing error of the first prism and the second prism.

The objective optical system for an endoscope includes a negative front group, an aperture stop, and a positive rear group that are arranged in this order from an object side. The front group includes only a cemented lens in which a negative first lens, a negative second lens, and a positive third lens are cemented in this order from the object side, as a lens. The rear group includes only a cemented lens in which include a positive fourth lens, a positive fifth lens, and a negative sixth lens are cemented in this order from the object side, as a lens. Conditional expressions are satisfied.