Endoscopy

Endoscopy allows surgeons to visualize body cavities and hollow organs, recognize diseases and – under certain conditions - treat them immediately, without the need for major surgical incisions, i.e. in a minimally invasive procedure.

The devices used for such examinations are generally called cavity inspection devices or scopes, in special applications endoscopes or, in line with the medical discipline, arthroscope or cystoscope etc.

An endoscope consists of a channel containing a glass fiber bundle for light transmission and an optical channel consisting of several lenses. The light enters the fiber bundle via a light cable, in most cases a glass fiber light cable. For illumination, cold light is used to prevent burns to the organs being examined. The optical system guides the image from the tip of the endoscope to the eyepiece or camera head, respectively. The endoscope's direction of view can be either straight or angled up to 110° in the case of rigid endoscopes.

Depending on the field of application, the endoscope can be either rigid, i.e. made of a fixed stainless steel pipe, or flexible, i.e. a flexible tube allowing deflections of up to 270°.

• Further details about endoscope

• Types of endoscopes