Borescope

The word “endoscope” comes from two words - the Greek "Endon" meaning inside and "Scopeo" meaning to look at. A lot of progress has been made in the endoscope technology, allowing surgeons to "look inside" their patients and to perform quite complex operations through tiny incisions.

Endoscopes are either rigid or flexible. Rigid Endoscopes are small tubular telescopes that enable the operator to look inside joints and body cavities and carry out surgical procedures using special endoscopic instruments. Rigid endoscopes are used for surgery of the joints (arthroscopy), abdominal surgery (laparoscopy),and chest surgery (thoracoscopy) - as well as for looking into the urinary bladder (cystoscopy) and nose (rhinoscopy).

The rigid endoscopes are not flexible in terms of motion ability so they have a slightly limited viewing angle. It is constructed from stainless steel containing an optical lens train comprised of precisely aligned glass lenses and spacers. A lens train comprised of precisely aligned lenses, spacers, and mirrors transfers the image to the eye of the user or to a video monitor. It has the following parts – objective lens, telescope, light post, eyepiece. The objective lens determine the angle of view, which can be forward, oblique, lateral, or retrograde. The telescope is the optical element, hence the most expensive and fragile part of the endoscope. It provides the image and the light that allows the image to be viewed. Around the lens are distributed illumination fibers through which the light and power source transmit. The eyepiece is the ocular lens through which the doctor views the image. Of course, it remains outside the patient’s body and is usually attached to a camera so that the images can be viewed on a monitor.

Rigid endoscopes are mostly used in gastrointestinal surgeries such as laparoscopic cholecystectomies, hernia repairs and appendectomies. This type of endoscopes also finds application in some gynecological procedures and orthopedic surgeries.

No matter how advanced modern day technology is, a rigid endoscope must be properly used to avoid problems. After every use, the tool must be cleaned and sterilized, because serious nosocomial infections can occur, and even the most expensive equipment can be damaged, if the correct reprocessing protocols are not consistently utilized.

The most common reasons for damaging a rigid endoscope are the following: inadequate training of employees, variations in staff training, lack of commitment of employees to follow with the safety regulations, use of expired disinfectant solutions and failure to inspect the scope prior to reprocessing.

Upper Endoscopy | Borescope Lens | Camera Lens | Gradient Lens | Optical Lens | Rod Lens |