An endoscope includes a four color separation prism having a first color separation prism, a second color separation prism, a third color separation prism, and a fourth color separation prism which respectively separate light incident from an affected area into a blue, red and green color components, and an IR component, first, second, third and fourth color image sensors, and a signal output. The first color separation prism, the second color separation prism, the third color separation prism, and the fourth color separation prism are sequentially disposed from an object side when receiving the light incident from the affected area. The first color image sensor is disposed opposite to the second color image sensor and the third color image sensor across an incident ray which is incident vertically to an object side incident surface of the first color separation prism.

An optical endoluminal far-field microscopic imaging catheter comprises a light generating system, a first light delivery conduit for propagating light generated by the light generating system and a light distributor configured to redirect light propagated by the delivery conduit into a direction of an object to be imaged. A discriminator is configured for capturing light reflected from the object incident on a window of the discriminator from a particular direction and transmitting only the light captured from the particular direction to a second light delivery conduit. A drive mechanism is configured to sweep the window through a plurality of directions in a predictable pattern for matching each light capture event in the window with a direction of the window during the event. An analyzer matches the direction of the window with an associated light capture event and generate a visible image based on a mosaic of the captured light.

Medical imaging camera head devices and methods are provided using light captured by an endoscope system or other medical scope or borescope. Afocal light from the scope is manipulated and split by a beamsplitter. At least one polarizing optical element manipulates the polarization properties of one or both of the beams. The resulting first and second beams are passed through focusing optics to different image sensor areas to produce images with different intensity. The resulting images are combined with high dynamic range techniques.

Driving an emitter to emit pulses of electromagnetic radiation according to a jitter specification in a hyperspectral, fluorescence, and laser mapping imaging system is described. A system includes an emitter for emitting pulses of electromagnetic radiation and an image sensor comprising a pixel array for sensing reflected electromagnetic radiation. The system includes a driver for driving emissions by the emitter according to a jitter specification. The system is h that at least a portion of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter comprises one or more of a hyperspectral emission, a fluorescence emission, and/or a laser mapping pattern.

Systems, methods, and devices for fluorescence imaging with a minimal area image sensor are disclosed. A system includes an emitter for emitting pulses of electromagnetic radiation and an image sensor comprising a pixel array for sensing reflected electromagnetic radiation, wherein the pixel array comprises active pixels and optical black pixels. The system includes a black clamp circuit providing offset control for data generated by the pixel array and a controller comprising a processor in electrical communication with the image sensor and the emitter. The system is such that at least a portion of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter comprises electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 795 nm to about 815 nm.

An endoscope with an optical channel is held and positioned by a robotic surgical system. A capture unit captures (1) a visible first image at a first time and (2) a visible second image combined with a fluorescence image from the light at a second time. An image processing system receives (1) the visible first image and (2) the visible second image combined with the fluorescence image and generates at least one fluorescence image. A display system outputs an output image including an artificial fluorescence image.

Color information with higher sensitivity than color information in a primary color system is detected. A laser scanning observation apparatus includes at least three light sources, a multiplexer, and a controller. The at least three light sources emit pulsed laser light with different wavelengths within the visible light spectrum. The multiplexer combines the laser light emitted from the at least three light sources. The controller causes different combinations of two light sources among the at least three light sources to emit laser light in sequence and periodically.

An imaging system includes: an imaging sensor; a plurality of first band filters and a second band filter, the second band filter being configured to transmit narrowband light having a maximum value of a transmission spectrum outside a range of a wavelength band of light that passes through the first band filter; and a light source unit configured to radiate light having a projecting distribution in which at least one of an upper limit value and a lower limit value of a wavelength that are half a maximum value in a light spectrum of a light source is between an upper limit value and a lower limit value of a wavelength that are half the maximum value in the transmission spectrum of the second band filter. A color and a narrowband images are generated from a single image while the light source unit radiates the light.

An endoscope observation system includes a light source section generating different types of light in at least partly different wavelength bands for observation of a polarized light-based observation image and for observation of a non polarized light-based observation image, respectively; an irradiation side polarization separation element subjecting the illumination light from the light source section to polarization separation; a light reception side polarization separation element performing polarization separation, in a particular wavelength band of the light from the observation target, by transmitting polarized light with a predetermined polarization component while reflecting polarized light with a polarization component other than the predetermined polarization component, and in a wavelength bend other than the particular wavelength band, exhibiting same transmission and reflection characteristics for both polarized light and non polarized light; and an image pickup element receiving the transmitted or reflected light.

The present invention relates to an illumination filter system (2) for medical imaging, in particular multispectral fluorescence imaging, as performed e.g. in a microscope (1) or endoscope, such as a surgical microscope, in particular a surgical multispectral fluorescence microscope, comprising a first optical filter (35). The present invention also relates to an observation system (3) for medical imaging, in particular multispectral fluorescence imaging, as performed e.g. in a microscope (1) or endoscope, in particular a multispectral fluorescence microscope, comprising a beam splitter (21) adapted to split a light image (13) into a first light portion (16, 17) along a first light path (18) and a second light portion (20) along a second light path (19). To improve known illumination filter systems and observation systems, so these systems work with one light source only, are capable of capturing simultaneously at least one fluorescence signal and a signal of visible reflected light and allow a homogeneous illumination for obtaining different images from the object illuminated, the first optical filter (36) is adapted to quench light of at least one fluorescence excitation band within the visible spectrum in the illumination filter system (2) of the present invention, and the first light portion (16, 17) comprises at least one fluorescence emission band (Em.1, Em.2) in the visible spectrum and the second light portion (20) portion comprises a visible reflected light (VISR) in the observation system (3) of the present invention.