An image pickup apparatus includes a flexible substrate, the flexible substrate includes a plurality of functional regions segmented by bending portions, one of the functional regions is an image pickup device mounting region, one of the functional regions is at least two electronic component mounting regions folded at the bending portions, and one of the functional regions is at least one wiring region provided between the adjacent mounting regions of the flexible substrate, the image pickup device mounting region has a largest surface shape among the plurality of functional regions, and the plurality of functional regions decrease in length of each of at least paired opposing sides of each surface shape, in a stepwise manner as a distance from the image pickup device mounting region increases.

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 imaging apparatus includes: an optical system configured to collect incident light; an imaging element including a light receiver configured to receive light input from the optical system and perform photoelectric conversion to generate an electrical signal; and an optical system adhesive layer configured to bond the optical system to a principal surface of the imaging element where the light receiver is provided. The optical system adhesive layer is a photosensitive transparent adhesive for which patterning is performed through a photolithography process and which has a function of determining a position of the optical system relative to the light receiver.

An objective optical system for endoscope includes a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, and a third lens group having a positive refractive power. At a time of focusing, the first lens group and the third lens group are fixed, and the second lens group moves. The third lens group consists of a front group having a positive refractive power and a rear group having a positive refractive power. The front group includes one cemented lens and the rear group includes one single lens, and the following conditional expressions are satisfied:
1fG3f/fG3r5,
0.1dG3fr/dG3r1,
8fc/rc2, and
7fG2/fG32.

A spectrally encoded endoscopic probe. The probe has a light guiding component, a light focusing component, and a grating component. The probe is configured such that a set of light beams of multiple wavelengths are diffracted by the grating component in different orders at substantially the same angle. The set of light beams includes at least 3 light beams. Each light beam among the set of light beams is associated with a different wavelength.

An endoscope system includes: an optical system; an actuator configured to move at least an optical element of the optical system. along an optical axis direction; a driving signal generator configured to generate and supply a driving signal for driving the actuator; a transmission cable electrically connecting the actuator and the driving signal generator; a detector configured to detect magnitude of the driving signal through the transmission cable; and a processor including hardware, the processor being configured to supply the driving signal with an initial driving voltage value to the actuator for a predetermined time, calculate a combined resistance value including a resistance value of the transmission cable and a resistance value of the actuator, based on at least the detected magnitude of the driving signal, calculate a driving voltage of the actuator, based on the calculated combined resistance value and a preset rated current value of the actuator, and cause a storage to record the calculated driving voltage.

Provided is an imaging technique capable of detecting a focus even in an imaging apparatus of a speckle image. The imaging apparatus includes a coherent light source that irradiates an imaging object with coherent light, an incoherent light source that irradiates the imaging object with incoherent light, a speckle imaging unit that captures a speckle image obtained from scattered light of the imaging object irradiated with the coherent light, a non-speckle imaging unit that captures a non-speckle image obtained from reflected light of the imaging object irradiated with the incoherent light, and a focus detection unit that detects a focus of the speckle imaging unit on the basis of a focal position of the non-speckle imaging unit.

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. The resulting first and second beams are passed through focusing optics to a single sensor. To take better advantage of the available number image sensor pixels, the beam may pass through lens elements (or prisms) to generate an anamorphic aspect ratio prior to being split, increasing the resolution of the image in one dimension. The afocal anamorphic beam is then split, and both images are focused on the image sensor. The anamorphism is compensated for in image processing, permitting higher resolution in one dimension along the image sensor. The manipulation of the beams prior to being split (and in some cases after or while being split) can take several forms, each offering distinct advantages over existing systems.

An endoscope includes: an illuminator configured to guide illumination light from a light source capable of emitting the illumination light intermittently and apply the illumination light to an object; an imaging element including a light receiver where multiple pixels configured to receive light and perform photoelectric conversion to generate electric signals are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, and a reader configured to sequentially read the electric signals per horizontal line from each of the multiple pixels; a generator configured to, based on a first vertical synchronization signal that is input from an external processor and reference timing of exposure of the imaging element with the illumination light, generate a second vertical synchronization signal for controlling timing at which the reader reads the electric signal; and an imaging controller configured to cause the reader to read the electric signals sequentially according to the second vertical synchronization signal.

A laser measuring system for continuous measurement of a plurality of connected tubulars being inserted into or removed from a wellbore. The laser measuring system can have a laser housing with one or more laser surface velocimeters. The laser housing with a laser arm can be connected to a support member and can communicate via a network to a computer processor and data storage for measuring pipe joint length in real time. A pressurized gas port can pressurize the laser housing above ambient pressure to keep a laser beam clear of particulate and well fluids or ambient pressure can be used with a continuous airflow device. The laser beam is used to detect and calculate length and quantity of tubulars moving past the laser beam transmitting the information to the computer processor in real time.