CPC Class H04N

A visualization system includes an image capturing apparatus configured to observe an object region having an object plane, an illumination apparatus that is mechanically decoupled from the image capturing apparatus, having an actuator for controlling at least one property of the illumination apparatus, a control unit connected to the actuator, and a pose capturing unit connected to the control unit. The pose capturing unit is embodied so that a relative pose between the illumination apparatus and the image capturing apparatus is ascertainable, wherein the actuator is actuable by the control unit, in dependence on the relative pose ascertained by the pose capturing unit, in a manner such that the at least one property of the illumination apparatus is settable such that the object region having the object plane is illuminated by the illumination apparatus.

A surgical site is simultaneously illuminated by less than all the visible color components that make up visible white light, and a fluorescence excitation illumination component by an illuminator in a minimally invasive surgical system. An image capture system acquires an image for each of the visible color components illuminating the surgical site and a fluorescence image, which is excited by the fluorescence excitation component from the illuminator. The minimally invasive surgical system uses the acquired images to generate a background black and white image of the surgical site. The acquired fluorescence image is superimposed on the background black and white image, and is highlighted in a selected color, e.g., green. The background black and white image with the superimposed highlighted fluorescence image is displayed for a user of the system. The highlighted fluorescence image identifies tissue of clinical interest.

An infrared sensor including a plurality of infrared cameras is described. Each infrared camera includes an infrared detector and imaging optics. The imaging optics are arranged to image infrared light onto the infrared detector, the imaging optics having a field of view with a center optical axis, and field of view boundary lines bounding the field of view on sides of the field of view. The infrared cameras are arranged such that the center optical axes of the field of views intersect each other, and the fields of view overlap each other.