Abstract: A light source device for use in an image capturing device such as an endoscope capable of reducing size and cost, and preventing heat generation at an illuminated position. An illumination unit of the endoscope includes LED light sources for emitting ultraviolet light, fluorescent fibers for generating red, green and blue light respectively by irradiation of the ultraviolet light, a sampling light source, and an excitation light source. Upon capturing a normal image, the ultraviolet light is emitted sequentially from the LED light sources to cause the fluorescent fibers to generate the red, green and blue light. The light of each color is passed through a light guide and irradiated on an observation area of a living body. Thereafter, reflected images attributable to the light of each color are captured with a CCD image capturing element of a charge multiplying type, and captured images are displayed on a monitor.

Abstract: Exciting light is projected onto a specimen such as an organic body, and an intensity in at least one wavelength range of fluorescence emitted from the specimen upon excitation by the exciting light is detected. Image data representing a fluorescence image of the specimen is obtained through an operation based on the intensity of the fluorescence. Whether each of pixels forming the fluorescence image is adequate for said operation is determined on the basis of the intensity of the fluorescence of each pixel. The operation is carried out on adequate pixels, which have been determined to be adequate for the operation, to obtain values for the adequate pixels while values which will not visually adversely affect the part of the fluorescence image corresponding to the adequate pixels are allotted to inadequate pixels, which have been determined not to be adequate for said operation.

Abstract: A correction function is calculated based on a reference image formed of reflected light reflected upon the irradiation of a predetermined living tissue, for which a diseased state is known, with a reference light. This correction function is employed to administer distance correction on calculated standardized values based on fluorescence images to which an offset has been added, to correct the fluctuations of the calculated standardized values caused by the distance between living tissue and the distal end of a fluorescence endoscope, thereby generating a corrected standardized fluorescence image.

Abstract: According to a fluorescent endoscope apparatus for detecting an autofluorescent-light image emitted from a living body upon irradiation thereof by stimulating light, when the endoscope insertion portion is inserted into or removed from a patients body, stimulating light is prevented from entering the eyes of the patient or the operator, ensuring for their safety. When the endoscope insertion portion is outside the body of a patient, the flicker occurring due to the fluorescent or other light illuminating the diagnosis room, which would be detected together with the autofluorescent-light image by a fluorescent-image use camera or with the normal image by a normal-image use camera, is detected by a flicker detector. The flicker detector outputs a detection signal to the stimulating light emission prevention controller, which turns off the power source to the stimulating light laser source by use of a controller computer and thereby prevents the emission of stimulating light.

Abstract: Operation processing is performed on a first fluorescence image and at least either one of a second fluorescence image and a reflected reference light image to form a tissue condition image, which represents a tissue condition of living body tissues and has been compensated for a distance to the living body tissues. According to at least one of the three images, a judgment is made as to whether each image area in the tissue condition image is an abnormal light affected area or a normal light detection area. The abnormal light affected area is displayed in a form different from the normal light detection area.

Abstract: A blood vessel imaging system includes a measuring light source which emits a measuring light beam. An optical heterodyne detection system consists of an optical system which splits the measuring light beam into a first light beam traveling to impinge upon an organism and a second light beam traveling not to impinge upon the organism and combines the second light beam with the first beam emanating from the organism into a combined light beam, a frequency shifter which causes the first and second light beams to have frequencies different from each other, and a beat component detector which detects beat components of the combined light beam. A band-pass filter detects, out of the beat component detection signal output from the beat component detector, off-centered components in a frequency band deviated from the center frequency of the beat component detection signal by a predetermined width.

Abstract: In an endoscope system including: a light emission unit emits laser light as illumination light or excitation light; a light guide unit guides the illumination light or the excitation light to an object; and an image pickup unit picks up a normal image formed with reflection light generated by reflection of the illumination light from the object or a fluorescence image emitted from the object in response to the excitation light. The laser light is multiaxial-mode laser light, or the light emission unit includes a plurality of laser-light sources which emit single-axial-mode laser beams having different wavelengths or phases. Alternatively, a vibration unit which vibrates the light guide unit is provided, or a high-frequency signal is superimposed on a driving current of the light emission unit, so that the wavelength of the laser light is shifted among a plurality of values.

Abstract: A fluorescent endoscope apparatus that displays as an image the autofluorescent light emitted from a target subject upon the irradiation thereof with an excitation light, wherein the scope means is improved and the size of the apparatus is made compact. An image obtaining unit, an illumination unit, and an excitation/reference-light unit are mounted adjacently on a rack located at a position remote from a scope means. The image obtaining unit, the illumination unit, and the excitation/reference-light unit are connected to the scope means by an image fiber, an illuminating-light guide, and an excitation/reference-light guide, respectively, Further, by making the length of the image fiber and the excitation/reference-light light guide longer than that of the illuminating-light light guide, the range in which the scope means is can be moved is limited only by the illuminating-light light guide.

Abstract: A photographing method and apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image, composed of fluorescent light emitted by a living tissue that has been illuminated by a stimulating light, as an image having a higher S/N ratio. Fluorescent light emitted by a living tissue that has been illuminated by a stimulating light emitted from a light source and propagated along an endoscope enters an image fiber. The fluorescent light entering the image fiber is propagated along the image fiber to the output face of the image fiber and focused on the light-receiving zone of a photographing element, under photographing conditions set so that the relation between the pixels of aforementioned output face, upon which the fluorescent image is formed, to the pixels receiving the light of the fluorescent image within aforementioned light-receiving zone satisfies the condition expressed by the formula: Nf×4>Nd.

Abstract: According to a fluorescent endoscope apparatus for detecting an autofluorescent-light image emitted from a living body upon irradiation thereof by stimulating light, when the endoscope insertion portion is inserted into or removed from a patients body, stimulating light is prevented from entering the eyes of the patient or the operator, ensuring for their safety. When the endoscope insertion portion is outside the body of a patient, the flicker occurring due to the fluorescent or other light illuminating the diagnosis room, which would be detected together with the autofluorescent-light image by a fluorescent-image use camera or with the normal image by a normal-image use camera, is detected by a flicker detector. The flicker detector outputs a detection signal to the stimulating light emission prevention controller, which turns off the power source to the stimulating light laser source by use of a controller computer and thereby prevents the emission of stimulating light.

Abstract: An excitation light irradiating device irradiates excitation light to a measuring site, the excitation light causing the measuring site to produce fluorescence. An imaging system detects an image of the fluorescence, which has been produced from the measuring site when the excitation light is irradiated to the measuring site. An imaging controller controls operations of the imaging system. The imaging system is provided with an image sensor, which comprises a plurality of pixels arrayed in two-dimensional directions and which has a fluorescence imaging region utilized for the imaging of the fluorescence and a non-imaging region other than the fluorescence imaging region.

Abstract: The intensities of backscattering light generated by predetermined interfaces of an eyeball when a laser beam emitted from a semiconductor laser is projected onto the eyeball in a predetermined position are detected. The absorbance or refractive index of the aqueous humor in the anterior chamber of the eyeball is determined on the basis of the intensities of the backscattering light, and the glucose concentration in the aqueous humor is determined on the basis of the absorbance or refractive index of the aqueous humor in the anterior chamber thus determined. An extinction filter is disposed on the optical path of the laser beam between the semiconductor laser and the eyeball so that the intensity of the laser beam entering the eyeball is reduced not higher than a predetermined value of MPE.

Abstract: An image taking element has a plurality of pins on one side thereof and a substrate is provided with a plurality of pads which are to be brought into electrical contact with the pins. The side of the image taking element is bonded to the substrate with each pin opposed to one of the pads by way of an anisotropic conductive adhesive layer which exhibits electrical conductivity only in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side of the image taking element.

Abstract: A light beam, which has been radiated out of a predetermined light source, is irradiated to the eyeball lying at a predetermined position. Each of intensity values of first and second backward scattered light beams of the light beam having been irradiated to the eyeball is detected. The first backward scattered light beam comes from an interface between the cornea of the eyeball and the ambient air, and the second backward scattered light beam comes from an interface between the cornea and the anterior aqueous chamber of the eyeball. A refractive index of the aqueous humor, which fills the anterior aqueous chamber, is calculated from the intensity values of the first and second backward scattered light beams.

Abstract: A surgical operation aiding system comprises an apparatus for obtaining an image signal representing an image of a sick portion of a living body, which is to undergo a surgical operation, and an image displaying apparatus for reproducing the image of the sick portion from the image signal and displaying the reproduced image on the actual sick portion of the living body. The magnification and/or the orientation of the displayed image is adjusted such that the position of the actual sick portion of the living body and the position of the pattern of the sick portion in the displayed image may match with each other.

Abstract: A single processing device samples a serial output of a photodetector for detecting a light beam radiated out of a sample and generates a digital image signal, which corresponds to each main scanning line of a light beam irradiated by an optical system onto the sample. Pixel clock pulses are fed into the signal processing device, the period of the pulses being modulated so as to compensate for fluctuations in a speed, at which the optical system is moved by a movement mechanism with respect to a sample supporting member. A timing signal that determines the timing, with which the sampling process is begun, is generated. A grid pattern constituted of light reflecting or blocking members arrayed in the direction, along which the optical system is moved reciprocally with respect to the sample supporting member, is secured to the sample supporting member or the optical system. A light projector is associated with the optical system or the sample supporting member and irradiates a light beam to the grid pattern.

Abstract: A scanning microscope comprises a sample supporting member on which a sample is supported, an optical device which irradiates a light beam to the sample, and a movement mechanism which moves the optical device with respect to the sample supporting member such that the light beam scans the sample. A device photoelectrically detects light radiated out of the portion of the sample, which is exposed to the light beam, an image of the sample being thereby formed. The movement mechanism for moving the optical device or the sample supporting member is constituted of a tuning fork on which the optical device or the sample supporting member is supported, and an excitation device for applying force, the magnitude of which changes periodically, to the tuning fork, and thereby causing the tuning fork to resonate.

Abstract: An optical scanner and an optical scanning type image pickup apparatus and a scanning microscope, both of which prevents an image from being displaced, and a scanning type microscope for preventing enlargement and reduction in the size of a target image by reciprocally traversing an optical means and a sample (scanning surface) relative to each other. A displacement between the optical means and the sample, which is detected by a displacement detector, is differentiated by a differentiating circuit to issue a differentiation signal Sh. A zero-level of the differentiation signal Sh is detected by a comparator, and the comparator issues a timing signal St upon detection of the zero-level. A horizontal sync signal generator generates a horizontal sync signal Hs upon receipt of the signal St. A pixel clock generator feeds a pixel clock signal Cp to an analog-to-digital converter upon receipt of the signal Hs.

Abstract: Preliminary two-dimensional scanning of a sample with a light beam is carried out before an operation for obtaining an image signal representing a microscope image is carried out. During the preliminary scanning of the sample, a direction and an amount of a deviation in position of the light beam, which has passed through the sample, from the position of a pinhole of a pinhole plate, are detected for each position which is being scanned with the light beam irradiated to the sample. A storage device stores information about the direction and the amount of the deviation and the information about the corresponding position, which is being scanned.

Abstract: A surface-wave driven motor comprises a moving member for being displaced, a resilient member having a surface urged against the moving member, a piezo-electric member provided in contact with the resilient member to impart vibration to the resilient member and create an elastic wave in the surface, means having electrode means provided on the piezo-electric member and applying an AC voltage to the piezo-electric member through the electrode means, means for detecting an electrical output produced in the piezo-electric member from an area on the piezo-electric member which is electrically insulated from the electrode means, and means for determining the frequency of the AC voltage on the basis of the detected electrical output.