In a minimally invasive surgical system, an image capture unit includes a prism assembly and sensor assembly. The prism assembly includes a beam splitter, while the sensor assembly includes coplanar image capture sensors. Each of the coplanar image capture sensors has a common front end optical stru
In a minimally invasive surgical system, an image capture unit includes a prism assembly and sensor assembly. The prism assembly includes a beam splitter, while the sensor assembly includes coplanar image capture sensors. Each of the coplanar image capture sensors has a common front end optical structure, e.g., the optical structure distal to the image capture unit is the same for each of the sensors. A controller enhances images acquired by the coplanar image capture sensors. The enhanced images may include (a) visible images with enhanced feature definition, in which a particular feature in the scene is emphasized to the operator of minimally invasive surgical system; (b) images having increased image apparent resolution; (c) images having increased dynamic range; (d) images displayed in a way based on a pixel color component vector having three or more color components; and (e) images having extended depth of field.
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1. An apparatus comprising: a first image capture sensor comprising a first sensor surface;a second image capture sensor comprising a second sensor surface, wherein the first and second sensor surfaces are coplanar;an assembly positioned to receive light, the assembly comprising a beam splitter, whe
1. An apparatus comprising: a first image capture sensor comprising a first sensor surface;a second image capture sensor comprising a second sensor surface, wherein the first and second sensor surfaces are coplanar;an assembly positioned to receive light, the assembly comprising a beam splitter, wherein the assembly is configured to direct a first portion of the received light to the first sensor surface, and is configured to pass a second portion of the received light through the assembly, the assembly further comprising: a prism assembly including the beam splitter and a second surface, the beam splitter comprising a first surface configured to reflect the first portion of the received light and to pass the second portion of the received light; and the second surface being configured to direct the reflected light from the first surface of the beam splitter to the first sensor surface, wherein the second surface of the prism assembly is positioned so that no other light hits the second surface; anda reflective unit positioned to receive the second portion of the received light, the reflective unit being configured to direct the second portion of the received light to the second image capture sensor. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second image capture sensors comprise different areas of an image capture sensor chip. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising an endoscope comprising a distal end including the first and second image capture sensors, the beam splitter, and the reflective unit. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a stereoscopic endoscope comprising a distal end, a pair of channels, and a plurality of first and second image capture sensors, a plurality of assemblies, and a plurality of reflective units, each of the plurality of assemblies comprising a beam splitter,the first image capture sensor and the second image capture sensor being included in the plurality of first and second image capture sensors, the assembly comprising the beam splitter being included in the plurality of assemblies, and the reflective unit being included in the plurality of reflective units, andwherein each channel in the pair of channels includes, in the distal end of the stereoscopic endoscope, a different first image capture sensor of the plurality of first and second image capture sensors, a different second image capture sensor of the plurality of first and second image capture sensors, a different assembly comprising a beam splitter of the plurality of assemblies, and a different reflective unit in the plurality of reflective units. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, the first surface of the beam splitter comprising a multilayer coated surface. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, the reflective unit further comprising: a reflective surface positioned to reflect the second portion of the received light to the second sensor surface of the second image capture sensor. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the prism assembly and the reflective unit comprise a single integral structure. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, the first surface of the beam splitter comprising a multilayer coated surface. 9. The apparatus of claim 7, the single integral structure comprising one of two parts glued together and three parts glued together. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a stop positioned adjacent to and distal to the prism assembly. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a liquid crystal based focusing element positioned adjacent to and distal to the stop. 12. The apparatus of claim 1, the prism assembly further comprising a distal face through which the received light enters the prism assembly, and the apparatus further comprising a first optical path length from the distal face to the first sensor surface and a second optical path length from the distal face to the second sensor surface, the first optical path length being about equal to the second optical path length. 13. The apparatus of claim 1, the prism assembly further comprising a distal face through which the received light enters the prism assembly, and the apparatus further comprising a first optical path length from the distal face to the first sensor surface and a second optical path length from the distal face to the second sensor surface, the first optical path length being different in length from the second optical path length, wherein the difference in length of the first and second optical path lengths is configured to provide a difference in focus between the images acquired by the first image capture sensor and by the second image capture sensor. 14. The apparatus of claim 1, the first surface of the beam splitter further comprising: a coated surface configured to reflect the first portion of the received light and to transmit the second portion of the received light. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first portion of the received light is a first percentage of the received light, and the second portion of the received light is a second percentage of the received light. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first and second percentages are about equal. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first and second percentages are different percentages. 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second image capture sensors comprises a color image capture sensor. 19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the first and second image capture sensors comprises a color image capture sensor, and wherein an other of the first and second image capture sensors comprises a monochrome image capture sensor. 20. An apparatus comprising: a first image capture sensor comprising a first sensor surface;a second image capture sensor comprising a second sensor surface, wherein the first and second sensor surfaces are coplanar;an assembly positioned to receive light, the assembly comprising a beam splitter, wherein the assembly is configured to direct a first portion of the received light to the first sensor surface, and is configured to pass a second portion of the received light through the assembly, the assembly further comprising: a prism assembly including the beam splitter, wherein the beam splitter comprises a surface configured to reflect the first portion of the received light and to pass the second portion of the received light and wherein the surface of the beam splitter has an angle of incidence smaller than forty five degrees; anda reflective unit positioned to receive the second portion of the received light, the reflective unit being configured to direct the second portion of the received light to the second image capture sensor. 21. An apparatus comprising: a first image capture sensor comprising a first sensor surface;a second image capture sensor comprising a second sensor surface, wherein the first and second sensor surfaces are coplanar;an assembly positioned to receive light, the assembly comprising a beam splitter, wherein the assembly is configured to direct a first portion of the received light to the first sensor surface, and is configured to pass a second portion of the received light through the assembly, the assembly further comprising: a prism assembly including the beam splitter, wherein the beam splitter comprises a surface configured to reflect the first portion of the received light and to pass the second portion of the received light; anda reflective unit positioned to receive the second portion of the received light, the reflective unit being configured to direct the second portion of the received light to the second image capture sensor, wherein the prism assembly and the reflective unit comprise a single integral structure, and wherein the single integral structure comprises a pentaprism. 22. A method comprising: receiving, by a prism assembly, light from a common front end optical system, the prism assembly including a beam splitter and a second surface;reflecting, by a first surface of the beam splitter, a first portion of the received light and passing a second portion of the received light;directing, by the second surface of the prism assembly, the reflected light from the first surface of the beam splitter to a first image capture sensor of an image capture unit, wherein the second surface of the prism assembly is positioned so that no light other than the reflected light hits the second surface;directing, by a reflective unit, the second portion of the received light to a second image capture sensor of the image capture unit;capturing, in the first image capture sensor of the image capture unit, a first image from the first portion of the received light received; andcapturing, in the second image capture sensor of the image capture unit, a second image from the second portion of the received light, wherein the first and second image capture sensors are coplanar and the first and second images are spatially registered relative to each other upon the capturings.
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