Abstract: A control and indicator apparatus for a variable direction-of-operation endoscopic instrument comprises a handle, a coinciding pointer, and a linking system connecting the handle to the endoscopic instrument. The handle affords the user intuitive and integrated control of the available degrees of freedom and the pointer conveys to the user the direction and orientation of the endoscopic working vector by shadowing its movement.

Abstract: An interface for a variable direction of view endoscope having an input device for receiving commands from the user, an output device for adjusting the endoscope, and an electronic processing device to determine the appropriate output based on the given input. The processing device may be configured to allow operation assisting features including a coordinate system aligned with the current view, a coordinate system aligned with the user's surroundings, a coordinate system aligned with the operating cavity, a memory to facilitate the immediate return to a user selected direction of view, and a clear indication of the current direction of view.

Abstract: A variable direction-of-view endoscope (74) with a spherical viewing window (34) symmetric about a symmetry plane (52) sealed to a distal end portion (18). The endoscope optical system can be adjusted to vary the direction of a view vector (22) through an unlimited range (50) about a pivot axis (23). The spherical viewing window (34) enables a process that switches the device between an initial configuration (54) and a final configuration (56), both having the same viewing direction (55). In addition to providing the user with an alternative to a possibly unfavorable viewpoint, this redundancy enables a stereo imaging process which captures (66) and displays (72) a stereo image pair (70) affording the user three-dimensional viewing.