An optical system for use with a stereo video endoscope with a fixed lateral viewing direction. The optical system including: a laterally-viewing distal optical assembly; and a proximal optical assembly, the distal optical assembly and proximal optical assembly jointly establishing a beam path, the proximal optical assembly including: a left channel lens system; and a right channel lens system similarly configured to the left channel lens system; wherein the distal optical assembly establishes an optical axis and is configured to couple incident light along the beam path from an object space into the left channel lens system and into the right channel lens system of the proximal optical assembly; and the optical system comprises an angle-selective optical element with a surface oriented perpendicular to the optical axis of the distal optical assembly, the surface being located in the beam path and coated with an incidence-angle-selective dielectric coating.

An enhanced optical design for imaging of live human tissue as a supplemental attachment to wireless mobile devices such as smartphones. The improved imaging system includes a series of optical ball lenses coupled to a medical-grade light source to allow universal compatibility to mobile device (e.g., smartphone) cameras. The releasable optical attachment comprises optical enhancement elements allowing universal compatibility without the need of an application or special program to re-orient the image therein permitting less loss of picture acuity and blanket usability to HIPAA-verified smartphone applications used in hospitals and patient's electronic health records. The addition of an external light source and light-redirecting elements negates the need for a smartphone light source or smartphone re-programming to illuminate target.

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.

A cooling device includes: a casing including an air intake port and an air exhaust port; a single heat releaser including a plurality of fins arranged in a gas flow path from the air intake port to the air exhaust port; a first heat diffuser arranged in the casing, connected to a first heat generation body generating heat at time of driving and the single heat releaser in a heat-transferable manner, and arranged at a position forming a part of the gas flow path passing through a space between the plurality of fins; and a second heat diffuser arranged in the casing, connected to a second heat generation body generating heat at time of driving and the single heat releaser in a heat-transferable manner, and arranged at a position forming a part of the gas flow path passing through the space between the plurality of fins.

Multicore fibers and endoscope configurations are provided, along with corresponding production and usage methods. Various configurations include an adiabatically tapered proximal fiber tip and/or proximal optical elements for improving the interface between the multicore fiber and the sensor, photonic crystal fiber configurations which reduce the attenuation along the fiber, image processing methods and jointed rigid links configurations for the endoscope which reduce attenuation while maintaining required flexibility and optical fidelity. Various configurations include spectral multiplexing approaches, which increase the information content of the radiation delivered through the fibers and endoscope, and configurations which improve image quality, enhance the field of view, provide longitudinal information. Various configurations include fiber-based wave-front sensors. Many of the disclosed configurations increase the imaging resolution and enable integration of additional modes of operation while maintain the endoscope very thin, such as spectral imaging and three dimensional imaging.

A circuit board design uses CMOS sensors for the tip section of a multi-viewing element endoscope. Side sensors and their optical assemblies are assembled to a common base board to save space. Individual base boards are separately constructed, inserted into grooves of a main base board, and are further connected to the main base board by means of flexible circuit boards.

An endoscope system includes a light source unit and a processor. The processor is configured to calculate a compensation amount using a correction image having a biological information obtained by imaging the observation object using the green light, correct a correlation to be used in the biological information observation mode using the compensation amount, calculate, according to the corrected correlation, biological information based on an image obtained by imaging the observation object using the second blue light, and display a white light image which is obtained by imaging the observation object using the white light, on a display unit in the correction mode.

An endoscope includes an objective optical system, an illuminator having a light-emitting region and the illuminator disposed at a position different from the objective optical system, and a dome-shaped transparent cover transparent in a range of field of view and sealing the object side of the objective optical system and the illuminator. The following Conditional Expressions (1) and (2) are satisfied: 0.5<θ/ω<0.95 (1), (−0.13×LP+0.86×DR)<DL<0.95×DR (2).

The endoscope system (10) includes a light source unit (20) that emits correction illumination light to be used for the correction in the correction mode in which the biological information observation mode is corrected and emits white light at least once; a compensation amount calculation unit (76) that calculates a compensation amount of data to be used in the biological information observation mode using correction images obtained using the correction illumination light; a correction unit (77) that corrects the biological information observation mode by compensating for the data using the compensation amount; and a display control unit (66) that displays a white light image, which is obtained by imaging the observation object using the white light, on a display unit in the correction mode.

This endoscope is provided with: a hard part that is provided at the distal end of a scope, is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a substantially circular distal end surface; and a plurality of cameras that are disposed on the left and right sides of the hard part to be located on both sides of a first virtual line perpendicular to the axis of the hard part on the distal end surface. The plurality of cameras include a first camera. The first camera is disposed so that the imaging axis is offset in the direction along the first virtual line from a second virtual line perpendicular to the axis and the first virtual line.