An endoscope having three offset sheaths of which one terminates in the ocular of a telescope lens system included in the instrument, the sheaths being so arranged with the instrument as a whole as to reduce fatigue in the bicep and deltoid muscles of the surgeon.

An endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope of the motor drive type which includes at least an image pickup means within an insertable portion thereof and are operable by giving operating orders to drive units for bending, air and water feed operations. The endoscope apparatus further includes observation means and operating means for the bending, air and water feed which are disposed respectively at positions remote from the endoscope body in such a manner that a plurality of operators of the endoscope can simultaneously perform the same operations while observing the same image being observed.

An improved surgical headlight that includes a headband for supporting the light on the head of the wearer. The headband carries an appropriate support for frictionally engaging a ball joint member which is carried by and above a light projecting element so that the wearer can manually manipulate the light projecting element to cause the ball joint member to be rotated in the support and frictionally held in a selected position until such time as the light projecting element is manipulated into a different position. These improved surgical headlight systems preferably include means for adjusting the vertical relationship between the ball joint member and the light projecting element so that the wearer may raise or lower the light projecting means to assist in the alignment of the axis of the light projector with the visual axes of the wearer's eyes.

A flexible or partially flexible endoscope comprising several passages and image guides passing through the shaft has the features that its distal omnilaterally steerable shaft is proximally constructed semirigidly or rigidly, is secured in a coupling element situated on the control housing and is traversed by several image guides which have allocated to them at the proximal control housing several monoculars and/or binoculars via rigid or flexible longitudinal elements. It is possible thereby to replace numerous separate endoscopes by a single endoscope.

There is disclosed a head-mounted imaging system which system employs a headband to be worn on the head of a surgeon during a surgical procedure. A surgeon may utilize a microscope eyeglass assembly in order for him to achieve a desired magnification of the operating area. The headband assembly includes an imaging system which imaging system furnishes a beam of light which beam of light is reflected into the operating area by means of a tiltable mirror coupled to the headband assembly. The tiltable mirror receives the reflected image from the operating site. This image is received by the imaging system where it is directed through a zoom lens magnification assembly whereby the magnification of the lens assembly is set to correspond to the microscope eyeglass assembly worn by the surgeon. The image thus directed through the zoom lens assembly is then coupled to a television monitor pickup for eventual viewing on a television monitor to thereby enable observers to view the entire operation as if through the eyes of the surgeon.