Stereoscopic visualization system

Apparatus for presenting a stereoscopic image to a viewer, the apparatus comprising:

• a stereoscopic video camera comprising:
• first and second optical channels for acquiring, respectively, the first and second images of a scene;
• first and second image sensors for acquiring, respectively, the first and second images from the first and second optical channels, the first and second image sensors being positioned along an axis;
• and
• parallax adjusting means for adjusting the parallax of a stereoscopic image acquired by the first and second image sensors and presented on a display;
• wherein the apparatus further comprises mapping means for mapping the first and second images acquired by the first and second image sensors to a display according to a pre-determined positional relationship, and further wherein the parallax adjusting means is configured to modify the manner in which the mapping means maps the first and second images to the display.

A method for presenting a stereoscopic image to a viewer, the method comprising:

• providing an endoscope, and a stereoscopic video camera optically connected to the endoscope, wherein the stereoscopic video camera comprises:
• first and second optical channels for acquiring, respectively, first and second images of a scene from the endoscope;
• first and second image sensors for acquiring, respectively, the first and second images from the first and second optical channels, the first and second image sensors being positioned along an axis;
• and
• parallax adjusting means for adjusting the parallax of a stereoscopic image acquired by the first and second image sensors and presented on a display;
• and
• operating the endoscope and the stereoscopic video camera so as to provide a stereoscopic image to the user wherein parallax has been adjusted.

A method for presenting a stereoscopic image to a viewer, the method comprising:

• providing a stereoscopic video camera comprising:
• first and second optical channels for acquiring, respectively, the first and second images of a scene;
• first and second image sensors for acquiring, respectively, the first and second images from the first and second optical channels, the first and second image sensors being positioned along an axis;
• and
• parallax adjusting means for adjusting the parallax of a stereoscopic image acquired by the first and second image sensors and presented on a display;
• wherein the apparatus further comprises mapping means for mapping the first and second images acquired by the first and second image sensors to a display according to a pre-determined positional relationship, and further wherein the parallax adjusting means is configured to modify the manner in which the mapping means maps the first and second images to the display;
• and
• operating the endoscope and the stereoscopic video camera so as to provide a stereoscopic image to the user wherein parallax has been adjusted.