Provided is a scanning endoscope apparatus capable of generating an image having an optimum SNR. The scanning endoscope apparatus includes: a light source; an optical fiber that guides light emitted from the light source; an actuator that deflects light emitted from the optical fiber and repeatedly scans the deflected light on the irradiation object; a light detector with a controllable multiplication factor, the light detector photoelectrically converting signal light obtained from the irradiation object irradiated with the light; and a controller, the controller controlling the multiplication factor so as to optimize a SNR based on electric signals obtained for a certain period, the signals having been photoelectrically converted by the optical detection unit.

An electronic visual food probe for viewing the interior of a body of food being cooked. The probe has a food-safe, heat resistant and elongated stem designed for insertion into the body of food. A thermally insulated cavity formed in one end of the stem has a window that allows light into and out of the cavity. A light source illuminates the interior of the food exposed to the window. An electronic image sensor receives the light reflected from the interior surfaces of the food proximate the window and generates an elongated color image of the reflected light. An electronic display system receives the elongated color image from the image sensor and displays it on an electronic display for viewing.

An endoscope light-source device includes a semiconductor laser light source, a first lens group that diverges a low-NA light component of light from the semiconductor laser light source and converges or collimates a high-NA light component of the light from the semiconductor laser light source, and a second lens group that focuses the light passing through the first lens group onto an end surface of a light guide. The first lens group includes at least one aspherical lens.

This optical scanning method yields a high quality image regardless of the size of the scanning area. An emission end of an optical fiber is displaced two-dimensionally to scan light emitted from the optical fiber, the emission end being displaced by an optical scanning actuator that includes a first driver and a second driver for driving the emission end in different directions. A non-circular scanning area is scanned by controlling, with a driver controller, a first drive signal supplied to the first driver and a second drive signal supplied to the second driver so as to rotate a scanning pattern of the light, while causing the scanning pattern to reciprocate repeatedly in a nearly parallel manner, and to change a length of the scanning pattern in accordance with a rotation angle of the scanning pattern.

An optical scanning endoscope apparatus includes: an illumination optical fiber that emits light from a tip part oscillatably supported; an actuator that drives the tip part of the illumination optical fiber; and a signal generator that generates, with respect to the actuator, a drive signal for causing the tip part of the illumination optical fiber to spiral scan. The signal generator generates the drive signal which includes: an amplitude expansion period for expanding the amplitude of the drive signal of the fiber from substantially 0 to a maximum value; and an amplitude contraction period for contracting the amplitude of the drive signal from the maximum value to substantially 0, the drive signal having an envelope that smoothly continues, with a gradient of substantially 0, across a border between the periods, with the longer one of the periods being defined as an effective scanning period.

An optical transmission module includes an optical element, an optical fiber, a holding section to which the optical fiber is bonded and fixed, and a wiring board including a first principal plane on which the optical element is mounted and a second principal plane on which the holding section is bonded and a connection pad connected to the optical element is disposed, and through which light passes. An adhesive tape is inserted between the holding section and the wiring board. The reinforcing resin does not protrude to an outside of the detachment sheet on the second principal plane of the wiring board.

A system and method for providing light to an optical scope having a lightport. A light device connects a camera to an optical scope and supplies light to the scope while allowing for scope rotation. The light device has a proximal end attached to the distal end of the camera, a distal end adapted to be attached to and detached from the scope, and a light source. The light source may be powered by electrical power received from the camera. A light cable extends from the light device and has a distal end adapted to be attached to and detached from the light post on the scope to supply light to the scope. The distal end of the light device is rotatable with respect to the distal end of the camera such that the light cable is able to rotate about the optical axis of the camera.

A lens having a quadrangular outer shape in a direction perpendicular to its center, an imaging element having a quadrangular outer shape in the direction perpendicular to the center axis, an element cover glass covering an imaging surface of the imaging element, a light guide placed outside at least one side of the lens and extending along the center axis, and a cylinder holder disposed between the lens and the light guide are disposed in a tip portion of an endoscope.

Embodiments of the invention include an apparatus including at least one illumination source configured to emit illumination energy and an illumination control system to receive the illumination energy. The illumination control system is configured to control the illumination energy to output a sequence of different illumination wavelengths using the illumination energy. The apparatus also includes a plurality of optical fibers connected to the illumination control system and configured to sequentially output the different illumination wavelengths. Each optical fiber is configured to transmit a different illumination wavelength of the sequence to output the sequence of different illumination wavelengths from the optical fibers toward an object. The apparatus further includes an image capture device including a plurality of pixels, and each pixel of the image capture device is configured to detect the illumination energy associated with each of the plurality of different illumination wavelengths reflected from the object.

Disclosed herein are configurations for fiber optic endoscopes employing fixed distal optics and multicore optical fiber.