Endoscope

1. An endoscope comprising:

an insert section including a distal end portion, a bending portion, and a hard part, the bending portion being intermediate the distal end portion and the hard part;

a low power imaging unit provided at the distal end portion of the insert section; and

an imaging signal converter provided inside the insert section at the hard part, the imaging signal converter, which in operation, converts an imaging signal output from the imaging unit.

2. The endoscope of claim 1 ,

wherein a data transmission method of an imaging signal transmitted from at least the imaging unit to the imaging signal converter is a low-amplitude differential transmission method.

3. The endoscope of claim 2 ,

wherein a transmission speed per lane of a first imaging signal transmitted from the imaging unit to the imaging signal converter is lower than or equal to a transmission speed per lane of a second imaging signal after the signal conversion using the imaging signal converter.

4. The endoscope of claim 1 ,

wherein the imaging unit includes an image pickup device, power consumption by the image pickup device at the time of imaging being 110 mw or less.

5. The endoscope of claim 1 ,

wherein a threshold level of a digital output signal at the time of imaging in the imaging unit is equal to or less than 0.2 V, and

wherein a threshold level of a digital output signal at the time of imaging in the imaging signal converter is equal to or less than 0.4 V.

6. The endoscope of claim 2 ,

wherein a distance which an MIPI signal is transmitted before the conversion of the imaging signal output from the imaging unit is 200 mm or less.

7. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the bending portion is intermediate the low power imaging unit and the imaging signal converter.