An endoscope comprises a light splitting device for transmitting a first illuminating light and reflecting a second illuminating light emitted by a light source. The first illuminating light passes through a first color filter transmitting a first color. The second illuminating light passes through the second color filter transmitting a second color. The first color is different from the second color. The light splitting device combines a first incident light of the first color and a second incident light of the second color. The first incident light of the first color and the second incident light of the second color pass through an imaging lens and form images of the first color and the second color on an image sensor, respectively. A CFA (color filter array) comprising a plurality of first CFA components of the first color and a plurality of second CFA component of the second color covering the image sensor.

An apparatus includes a shaft, an imaging head, and a processor. The shaft includes a distal end sized to fit through a human nostril into a human nasal cavity. The imaging head includes an image sensor assembly, a plurality of light sources, and a plurality of collimators. At least some of the light sources are positioned adjacent to the image sensor assembly. Each collimator is positioned over a corresponding light source of the plurality of light sources. The processor is configured to activate the light sources in a predetermined sequence. The image sensor assembly is configured to capture images of a surface illuminated by the light sources as the light sources are activated in the predetermined sequence.

Single viewpoint panoramic imaging attachments for a colonoscope are disclosed that are compact in size and provide 360-degree side and rear-views in a single image. One panoramic attachment assembly includes a plurality of micro-imaging subsystems that are positioned around a central opening. Each micro-imaging subsystem includes a reflector to receive light that is reflected from a surrounding tissue, an imaging lens, and a detector to generate signals corresponding to one section of a panoramic image of the surrounding tissue. The micro-imaging subsystems are arranged to all have a common view point, and are configured to collectively form a full 360-degree image of the surrounding tissue.

An endoscopic probe comprises a flexible light guide extending from a proximal end of the endoscopic probe to a distal end portion of the endoscopic probe. A motor is disposed in the distal end portion of the endoscopic probe. The motor comprises a rotor coupled to drive rotation of a light deflector. The light deflector is located between the rotor and a distal end of the endoscopic probe. The rotor is configured to provide a light path extending axially through the rotor. The light path arranged to carry light between the light deflector and the light guide. The endoscopic probe may be applied for helical scanning walls of small passages in any of a wide range of modalities such as OCT, fluorescence imaging, Raman spectroscopy, reflectance imaging.

Fluorescent imaging systems for performing an endoscopic procedure, such as a retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedure may include a first light source for emitting light in the visible spectrum, or light in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum, or both. A light source bandpass filter may block the emitted light in the visible spectrum, or in the NIR spectrum, or both. A first sensor may be capable of detecting the light in the visible spectrum, or the light in the NIR spectrum, or both. A sensor bandpass filter may block the detected light in the visible spectrum, or in the NIR spectrum, or both. The first or a second light source, or the first or a second sensor, or combinations thereof, may be removably disposed on a duodenoscope.

A direct vision cryosurgical and methods of use are described herein where the device may generally comprise an elongated rigid structure with a distal end, a proximal end, and a central lumen. The distal end may comprise a non-coring optically transparent needle tip with at least one lateral fenestration in communication with the central lumen. The distal end may also house at least one imaging device configured for distal imaging. A proximal end of the device may comprise a handle with a means for connecting the imaging device(s) to an imaging display(s), and a means for accessing bodily tissue in the vicinity of the distal end with a cryo-ablation probe through the central lumen and the lateral fenestration(s) for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.

An endoscope system includes an endoscope that captures a living tissue in a body cavity, and an image processing unit. The endoscope includes an objective lens provided on a front side of a light receiving surface of an image sensor and configured to simultaneously form images of the living tissue, obtained through a plurality of windows, on the light receiving surface as the captured image. The image processing unit includes a three-dimensional expansion processor configured to calculate different directions of a feature part visible through the plurality of windows based on position information in each of images of the feature part, which is distinguishably identified from other parts and included in common in the plurality of images obtained through the plurality of windows in the captured image captured by the endoscope, and to expand two-dimensional information of the images of the feature part to three-dimensional information.

There is provided herein an optical system for a tip section of a multi-sensor endoscope, the system comprising: a front-pointing camera sensor; a front objective lens system; a side-pointing camera sensor; and a side objective lens system, wherein at least one of said front and side objective lens systems comprises a front and a rear sub-systems separated by a stop diaphragm, said front sub-system comprises, in order from the object side, a first front negative lens and a second front positive lens, said rear sub-system comprises, in order from the object side, a first rear positive lens, an achromatic sub-assembly comprising a second rear positive lens and a third rear negative lens, wherein the following condition is satisfied: f.sub.(first rear positive lens)≤1.8f, where f is the composite focal length of the total lens system and f.sub.(first rear positive lens) is the focal length of said first rear positive lens.

An imaging device (010, 10, 110) comprises a first optical system (020, 20, 120) at a distal end of the imaging device, a second optical system (080, 80, 180) towards the proximal end of the imaging device, and a sensor (074, 74, 174) at the proximal end of the imaging device. The first and second optical systems and the sensor are aligned along a common longitudinal axis. The first optical system is or comprises one or more reflective and/or refractive optical components (24, 124; 22, 122) symmetrically and/or coaxially arranged with respect to the longitudinal axis, and the second optical system comprises one or more reflective and/or refractive optical components (24, 124; 22, 122) for focussing incident light towards the sensor. A calibration system (200) and method for calibrating such an imaging device, and a method of processing image data obtained from such an imaging device are also provided.

An endoscope includes an image-capturing module. The image-capturing module includes a lens barrel housing an optical system, an image sensor, a sensor holding member that relatively fixes the lens barrel and the image sensor, and a flexible substrate through which a signal of the image sensor is transmitted to a transmission cable. The flexible substrate is bendable at an arbitrary number of bending portion.