Abstract: A monolithic nonplanar ring oscillator (NPRO) laser with a large piezo-electric tuning range and high frequency slew rate, denoted as a ?NPRO, is described. A tuning range of 3.5 GHz with 192 volts applied, corresponding to a tuning coefficient of 18.2 MHz/volt was experimentally demonstrated. This performance was achieved by making the solid-state gain element small, with a small distance between a piezo-electric element bonded to the solid-state gain element and a first lase plane in the solid-state gain element. The entire nonplanar ring lasing path within the solid-state gain element may lie within the half of the solid-state gain element closest to the bonded piezo-electric element. This large frequency modulation span and wide frequency modulation bandwidth, combined with unsurpassed coherence and high power, make this an attractive laser for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LIDAR.

Abstract: A master oscillator configured as a seed laser for a laser optical module includes a reduced size, temperature controlled non-planar ring oscillator, a piezo-electric transducer mounted on the non-planar ring oscillator, a pump laser diode, and coupling optics configured to couple a laser output of the pump laser diode to an end face of the non-planar ring oscillator. The pump laser diode may operate as a single-mode pump.

Abstract: Coating-less nonplanar ring oscillator lasers are disclosed. Such lasers may eliminate the need for thin-film optical coatings from a laser cavity, solving the problem of optical damage to the coatings, and thus, providing a longer useful lifetime for the laser for space or terrestrial applications. Such lasers may be compact, ultra-stable, and highly reliable, enabling a low phase noise, single frequency laser in a compact package. Such lasers may be used in CW and/or in pulse mode.

Abstract: A laser spectrometer includes a tunable laser assembly, a periodically-poled nonlinear optical crystal, with parallel polished input and output end faces, and a mechanism for controlling an entrance location of a pump input beam of the tunable laser on the input end face of the periodically-poled nonlinear optical crystal, such that the pump input beam traverses different grating periods of the periodically-poled nonlinear optical crystal.

Abstract: A venous valve incising cutter includes a cutting teeth head, a guide, a wire and a coupling rod that couples the guide and a cutting teeth head, all aligned in a rotation axis thereof. More than four pieces of cutting blades are formed on the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head. Each cutting blade has a roughly triangular pyramid shape such that the three ridge lines are composed of the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head and the two planes formed in the reverse side of the outer surrounding surface and the apex is a knife-point of the cutting blade.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a laser system and method which enables fast, accurate laser frequency tuning. In particular, the present invention includes only one laser and only one absolute frequency locking loop to perform the same fast frequency tuning than previous seed laser systems.

Abstract: An image processing device including: one or more processors comprising hardware, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: calculate an estimated movement amount of a subject in each image of a plurality of images; perform, based on the estimated movement amounts, one of: select and output an image that is most recently captured among the plurality of images; and select a reference image from the plurality of images based on the estimated movement amounts of the subject in the plurality of images; in response to selecting the reference image, determine a gain of the reference image; and perform, based on the gain, one of: select and output the reference image; and a synthesis process including: select a synthesis target image from the plurality of images; and generate and output a synthesized image by synthesizing the synthesis target image and the reference image.

Abstract: An endoscope device includes a tip section including an imaging element for outputting a pixel signal of a captured image and configured to be inserted into an object, and a flexible section including a first serial signal transmission path along which a setting related to photographing is transmitted to the imaging element via first serial communication and a second serial signal transmission path along which the pixel signal is transmitted via second serial communication and configured to guide the tip section into the object, wherein the second serial signal transmission path includes an equalizer circuit configured to correct frequency characteristics of a serial signal and a limiting amplifier circuit configured to amplify the serial signal corrected by the equalizer circuit, and wherein the equalizer circuit and the limiting amplifier circuit are connected on the same substrate surface.

Abstract: A venous valve incising cutter includes a cutting teeth head, a guide, a wire and a coupling rod that couples the guide and a cutting teeth head, all aligned in a rotation axis thereof. More than four pieces of cutting blades are formed on the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head. Each cutting blade has a roughly triangular pyramid shape such that the three ridge lines are composed of the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head and the two planes formed in the reverse side of the outer surrounding surface and the apex is a knife-point of the cutting blade.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods related to use of hollow core photonic crystal fibers. A system includes a tube and a collimating lens configured in a first end of the tube, wherein a single mode fiber is coupled to a first end of the collimating lens. A second lens is supported by a structure at a second end of the tube, the second lens receiving a first signal from a second end of the collimating lens and outputting a second signal that is coupled into a first end of a hollow core photonic crystal fiber. A first gas tube is configured to introduce gas through the structure into a chamber and a sealant seals at least one of the collimating lens and the structure within the tube. An output signal is received at a detector that catches the entire beam to suppress multiple-mode beating noise.

Abstract: A venous valve incising cutter includes a cutting teeth head, a guide, a wire and a coupling rod that couples the guide and a cutting teeth head, all aligned in a rotation axis thereof. More than four pieces of cutting blades are formed on the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head. Each cutting blade has a roughly triangular pyramid shape such that the three ridge lines are composed of the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head and the two planes formed in the reverse side of the outer surrounding surface and the apex is a knife-point of the cutting blade.

Abstract: An image processing device including: one or more processors comprising hardware, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: calculate an estimated movement amount of a subject in each image of a plurality of images; perform, based on the estimated movement amounts, one of: select and output an image that is most recently captured among the plurality of images; and select a reference image from the plurality of images based on the estimated movement amounts of the subject in the plurality of images; in response to selecting the reference image, determine a gain of the reference image; and perform, based on the gain, one of: select and output the reference image; and a synthesis process including: select a synthesis target image from the plurality of images; and generate and output a synthesized image by synthesizing the synthesis target image and the reference image.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods related to use of hollow core photonic crystal fibers. A system includes a tube and a collimating lens configured in a first end of the tube, wherein a single mode fiber is coupled to a first end of the collimating lens. A second lens is supported by a structure at a second end of the tube, the second lens receiving a first signal from a second end of the collimating lens and outputting a second signal that is coupled into a first end of a hollow core photonic crystal fiber. A first gas tube is configured to introduce gas through the structure into a chamber and a sealant seals at least one of the collimating lens and the structure within the tube. An output signal is received at a detector that catches the entire beam to suppress multiple-mode beating noise.

Abstract: A venous valve incising cutter includes a cutting teeth head, a guide, a wire and a coupling rod that couples the guide and a cutting teeth head, all aligned in a rotation axis thereof. More than four pieces of cutting blades are formed on the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head. Each cutting blade has a roughly triangular pyramid shape such that the three ridge lines are composed of the outer surrounding surface of the cutting teeth head and the two planes formed in the reverse side of the outer surrounding surface and the apex is a knife-point of the cutting blade.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided to enable precision and fast laser frequency tuning. For instance, a fast tunable slave laser may be dynamically offset-locked to a reference laser line using an optical phase-locked loop. The slave laser is heterodyned against a reference laser line to generate a beatnote that is subsequently frequency divided. The phase difference between the divided beatnote and a reference signal may be detected to generate an error signal proportional to the phase difference. The error signal is converted into appropriate feedback signals to phase lock the divided beatnote to the reference signal. The slave laser frequency target may be rapidly changed based on a combination of a dynamically changing frequency of the reference signal, the frequency dividing factor, and an effective polarity of the error signal. Feed-forward signals may be generated to accelerate the slave laser frequency switching through laser tuning ports.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a video input section to which live video obtained by picking up an image of an object is inputted; a frame interpolation processing section which, by inserting an interpolated image between images of frames constituting the live video, performs processing for generating and outputting interpolated video of a frame rate set in advance; and a control section which, when an instruction for freezing video displayed on a display section is made, operates so as to cause a still image of a frame constituting the live video to be displayed on the display section.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus includes: a reading unit which reads video data and control data from a recording medium, the recording medium containing the video data including a plurality of image data and the control data used to control a measurement operation; a measuring unit which performs the measurement operation on the basis of the image data of the video data read by the reading unit; and a control unit which controls the measuring unit on the basis of the control data read by the reading unit.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided to enable precision and fast laser frequency tuning. For instance, a fast tunable slave laser may be dynamically offset-locked to a reference laser line using an optical phase-locked loop. The slave laser is heterodyned against a reference laser line to generate a beatnote that is subsequently frequency divided. The phase difference between the divided beatnote and a reference signal may be detected to generate an error signal proportional to the phase difference. The error signal is converted into appropriate feedback signals to phase lock the divided beatnote to the reference signal. The slave laser frequency target may be rapidly changed based on a combination of a dynamically changing frequency of the reference signal, the frequency dividing factor, and an effective polarity of the error signal. Feed-forward signals may be generated to accelerate the slave laser frequency switching through laser tuning ports.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a video input section to which live video obtained by picking up an image of an object is inputted; a frame interpolation processing section which, by inserting an interpolated image between images of frames constituting the live video, performs processing for generating and outputting interpolated video of a frame rate set in advance; and a control section which, when an instruction for freezing video displayed on a display section is made, operates so as to cause a still image of a frame constituting the live video to be displayed on the display section.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus 1 includes a main body 4 to which a scope having an image pickup device at a distal end portion 8 of an insertion portion 7b is detachably attachable, a video signal processing section 22, a display section 5 and a control section 21. The control section 21 displays on the display section 5 a message for instructing a user to light-shield the distal end portion 8 according to an instruction for starting initialization processing to acquire a reference image of the image pickup device, acquires the reference image with the distal end portion 8 light-shielded and stores the acquired reference image in a memory 27.