Provided is an endoscope apparatus provided with: an elongated insertion portion that is inserted into a body; an image-acquisition portion that has an imaging optical system disposed at a distal end of the insertion portion and that acquires two images having parallax for the same imaging subject; an identifying portion that identifies an image of an object, which is in close proximity to the imaging optical system, that is captured only in one of the two images acquired by the image-acquisition portion; and a close-proximity-image-removal processing portion that processes the image so that the image of the object identified by the identifying portion is removed from the image.

A stereoscopic endoscope system includes a stereoscopic endoscope and an identification information combining section. The stereoscopic endoscope is provided with an R image pickup section and an R output section which are provided on a right side of an endoscope body, an L image pickup section and an L output section which are provided on a left side of the endoscope body, and an R memory and an L memory which store correction information for either right or left and identification information. The right and left image pickup sections and the right and left memories are correctly or incorrectly combined and are connected to the right and left output sections. The identification information combining section performs image combination of an image and identification information inputted from the R output section or an image and identification information inputted from the L output section and outputs a combined image.

In the case of a camera module (1) including at least two camera functional units (2, 3, 4, 5, 22) arranged one behind another in a stack arrangement, it is provided to form the camera functional units (2, 3, 4, 5, 22) on a common main body (11), wherein the camera functional units (2, 3, 4, 5, 22) are aligned with respect to one another in the use position by a folding or bending process.

An image processing device 1X includes a three-dimensional reconstruction means 31X, a matching means 32X, and an output control means 33X. The three-dimensional reconstruction means 31X generates reconstruction data Mr acquired by three-dimensionally reconstructing an inspection target on a basis of captured images Ic which a photographing unit provided in an endoscope generates by photographing the inspection target. The matching means 32X performs matching between a standard model “Ms”, which is a standard three-dimensional model of the inspection target, and the reconstruction data Mr. The output control means 33X displays on a display device 2X a photographed area indication image indicating a photographed area of the inspection target on the standard model based on a result of the matching.

There is provided an endoscope imaging unit including parallel electric wires, an image sensor located on a front end side by being separated from front ends of the respective electric wires, and having a light incident surface substantially perpendicular to the electric wires, a flexible substrate located between the electric wires and the image sensor, having a circuit, and conductively connecting the respective electric wires to the circuit, an image sensor mounting peninsula portion bent with respect to the substrate, and mounting the image sensor thereon by conductively connecting the image sensor to the circuit, and a circuit mounting peninsula portion extending from the substrate, located by being bent to a side opposite to the image sensor before the image sensor mounting peninsula portion, and mounting and conductively connecting an electronic component or the circuit pattern to the circuit.

A stereo imaging system comprises an observation instrument having an image acquisition unit for detecting first image data and second image data, which can be combined for stereo observation. There is provided at least one position sensor for detecting an orientation of the instrument in relation to a position reference. There is provided a control device that is operable in a first representation mode and a second representation mode, depending on the orientation of the instrument. The control device is configured for outputting an image signal, which comprises a stereo signal that is based on the first image data and the second image data in the first representation mode, and a mono signal that is based on the first image data or the second image data in the second representation mode. The control device is configured to erect images that are output with the image signal in the second representation mode, depending on the orientation.

A stereoscopic optical system that includes an image member that is located at a position along a center optical axis and that has a first stereoscopic image area on a first side of the optical axis for receipt of a first stereoscopic image thereon and a second, separate stereoscopic image area on a second, separate side of the optical axis for receipt of a second, separate stereoscopic image thereon. The system includes an optical arrangement extending along the center optical axis and includes a roof prism with first and second roof segments. The arrangement is configured to transmit image-forming rays passing through the first roof segment to the first stereoscopic image area along a first optical path through the arrangement and is configured to transmit image-forming rays passing through the second roof segment to the second stereoscopic image area along a second, different optical path through the arrangement.

Disclosed is a stereo endoscope system comprising stereo endoscopes of varying working lengths, working diameters and directions of view. Each stereo endoscope comprises two identical optical systems where every pair of corresponding components is permanently couple in a sideways orientation. The system is capable of withstanding harsh conditions associated with medical equipment cleaning and sterilization, particularly, the high temperatures and pressures associated with autoclaving. Each of the corresponding components of the two identical optical systems is paired and moved relative to each other to adjust focus and then affixed to create a new singular optical component. The system includes a prism block that extends the distance between the optical axes on the stereo endoscope to the position of two video chips.

An image processing device includes an image acquisition section that acquires a captured image that includes an image of an object, the captured image being an image captured by an imaging section, a distance information acquisition section that acquires distance information based on the distance from the imaging section to the object when the imaging section captured the captured image, an irregularity information acquisition section that acquires extracted irregularity information from the acquired distance information, the extracted irregularity information being information that represents irregular parts extracted from the object, and an enhancement section that performs an enhancement process on an enhancement target, the enhancement target being an irregular part that is represented by the extracted irregularity information and agrees with characteristics specified by known characteristic information, the known characteristic information being information that represents known characteristics relating to the structure of the object.

[Object] To improve work efficiency with respect to work using a transparent object, such as a transparent operation tool, for example. [Solution] An image region where an object exists as a target region is detected on the basis of a second captured image, when a first captured image is a captured image obtained by selectively receiving a light of a first wavelength band, and the second captured image is a captured image obtained by selectively receiving a light of a second wavelength band, the captured images being obtained by capturing the object that is transparent for the light of the first wavelength band and is opaque for the light of the second wavelength band. Subsequently, an outline of the object is superimposed on the first captured image on the basis of information of the target region detected by the target detecting unit.