An optical unit includes: a fixing portion including a front frame portion that holds an object-side fixed lens group, a rear frame portion that holds an image-side fixed lens group or an image sensor, and a fixing portion main body formed by using a non-magnetic material; a moving portion that holds a moving lens group and that is arranged on an inner side of the fixing portion main body so as to be slidable with respect to the fixing portion main body; and a voice coil motor configured to move the moving portion along a direction of the optical axis relative to the fixing portion main body, and including a magnetic portion magnetized in a direction intersecting an optical axis of the object-side fixed lens group, and a coil located on an outer side of the fixing portion main body with respect to the magnetic portion.

There is provided a medical observation device, including: an observation unit configured to perform magnified observation of a surgical site; a vibration sensor that detects a vibration of the observation unit; a support unit that supports the observation unit; and a control unit that conducts an image shake correction that corrects a shake in an image observed by the observation unit, based on a detection value from the vibration sensor.

An optical component assembly method including shrinking a first end of a heat shrink tube about a first optical component, inserting a loading portion of a loading tube into a second end of the heat shrink tube, radially-inserting a plurality of optical components into a staging portion of the loading tube thereby forming a line of optical components, the staging portion being seamlessly coupled to and integrally-formed with the loading portion, moving the line of optical components from the staging portion into the loading portion, and removing the loading portion from between the line of optical components and the heat shrink tube thereby depositing the line of optical components in the heat shrink tube. The line of optical components is fixed and optically aligned within the heat shrink tube by applying radial pressure, axial pressure and heat to the line of optical components simultaneously.

An endoscope apparatus includes: a display image selecting portion that selectively outputs one of a surgical image and a gastrointestinal image inputted via an input portion or outputs both of the surgical image and the gastrointestinal image; a combining portion that generates, when both of the surgical image and the gastrointestinal image are outputted by the display image selecting portion, a composite image for performing two-screen display of the surgical image and the gastrointestinal image; and a processor that performs image judgment processing, the processor detecting whether a high-luminance area formed by illumination light radiated at a time of image pickup by the gastrointestinal endoscope exists in the surgical image; and deciding, when detecting that the high-luminance area exists in the surgical image when the surgical image is displayed in one screen, a display method for causing two-screen display based on the composite image to be displayed.

A lens alignment system and method is disclosed. The disclosed system/method integrates one or more lens retaining members/tubes (LRM/LRT) and focal length spacers (FLS) each comprising a metallic material product (MMP) specifically manufactured to have a thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) in a predetermined range via selection of the individual MMP materials and an associated MMP manufacturing process providing for controlled TEC. This controlled LRM/LRT TEC enables a plurality of optical lenses (POL) fixed along a common optical axis (COA) by the LRM/LRT to maintain precise interspatial alignment characteristics that ensure consistent and/or controlled series focal length (SFL) within the POL to generate a thermally neutral optical system (TNOS). Integration of the POL using this LRM/LRT/FLS lens alignment system reduces the overall TNOS implementation cost, reduces the overall TNOS mass, reduces TNOS parts component count, and increases the reliability of the overall optical system.

A telescope system (100) comprises a steering minor (M5) arranged in a part of its optical path (L5-L6) between a first telescope stage (10) and a second telescope stage (20). The steering mirror (M5) is configured to controllably rotate over a rotation angle (θm) for controlling a view angle (θv) of the telescope system (100) from the entrance aperture (A1). The steering mirror (M5) is disposed at an intermediate pupil (Pi) of the telescope system (100), at which position an image of the aperture stop (As) is formed by one or more of the optical components (M7,M6) there between.

A lens alignment system and method is disclosed. The disclosed system/method integrates one or more lens retaining members/tubes (LRM/LRT) and focal length spacers (FLS) each comprising a metallic material product (MMP) specifically manufactured to have a thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) in a predetermined range via selection of the individual MMP materials and an associated MMP manufacturing process providing for controlled TEC. This controlled LRM/LRT TEC enables a plurality of optical lenses (POL) fixed along a common optical axis (COA) by the LRM/LRT to maintain precise interspatial alignment characteristics that ensure consistent and/or controlled series focal length (SFL) within the POL to generate a thermally neutral optical system (TNOS). Integration of the POL using this LRM/LRT/FLS lens alignment system reduces the overall TNOS implementation cost, reduces the overall TNOS mass, reduces TNOS parts component count, and increases the reliability of the overall optical system.

A solid-state imaging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a stacked photoelectric converter for each of pixels. The stacked photoelectric converter has a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements stacked therein. The plurality of photoelectric conversion elements each has different wavelength selectivity. This solid-state imaging device further includes a plurality of data output lines from which pixel signals based on electric charges outputted from the photoelectric conversion elements are outputted. A plurality of data output lines is provided for each predetermined unit pixel column. The plurality of the data output lines is equal in number to an integer multiple of the photoelectric conversion elements stacked in the stacked photoelectric converter.

A disposable cover for use with an endoscope includes an elongated sheath having and having an open proximal end and a closed distal end. A channel extends along a central axis of the sheath from the open proximal end to the closed distal end, and the channel is configured to accommodate insertion of an endoscope. A proximal region of the sheath is formed as a rigid thin-wall sleeve and a distal region of the sheath is formed as a flexible thin-wall sleeve. The flexible thin-wall sleeve is configured to allow deflection of said distal region in cooperation with an articulating distal end of an endoscope.

Systems of the present disclosure may include one or more of an optical overlay device, which may include one or more of an imaging optic to receive incoming light from a scene, and project at least a portion of the incoming light onto an imaging sensor; an imaging sensor to transduce into image data the light projected onto it by the imaging optic; a processing engine electrically coupled with a non-transitory computer readable medium having machine readable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by the processing engine, cause the system to: generate a scaled overlay image based on the image data and a magnification parameter; a display device configured to project the scaled overlay image through a display optic toward a portion of a beam-combiner; a coupling mechanism to enable releasable attachment of the optical overlay device with a primary viewing device.