Borescope

A lot of progress has been made over the past years in the field of endoscopy. An endoscopy camera is used to evaluate a patient’s health by providing the doctor with clear images (recording video materials) of his internal organs. There are a lot of advancements in this technology with the latest one, called being a video camera with the size of a pill. This procedure is called capsule endoscopy and the patient swallows the minicam, which then takes pictures inside the small intestine. On its journey through the digestive tract, the tiny tumbling camera transmits images that are stored in a recorder that the person wears around the waist. After 8 hours, the camera's battery runs out, and the capsule is eliminated in the feces. Scientists then download the recorder's images into a computer.

The endoscopy camera is proven to be much more efficient than a CT scan or an X-ray scan, as it detects more abnormalities. And there are cases when the regular X or CT scan won’t detect nothing as oppose to an endoscope camera. In tests conducted in Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, the capsule camera revealed 11 cases of an intestinal condition, called arterial-venous malformation, in which blood vessels in the intestines leak. Neither the X ray nor the CT detected any.

This is a major breakthrough. The endoscopy camera is noninvasive, doesn't require any medications or radiation, and, we now know from the different experiments that it results in better and more complete evaluations of the small intestine.

However, it must be noted that this technique is more expensive than the other procedures. Nevertheless, combined with CT scans and X rays, an endoscopy camera could vastly improve diagnosis of small intestinal ailments such as Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and arterial-venous malformation.

Karl Storz is one of the companies developing endoscopy cameras. Recently, Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc., introduced Image 1- the first and only camera head that instantly converts optical images to digital at the CCD sensing chip. Digital at the source, Image 1 delivers pure digital imaging that realistically renders patient anatomy for the cleanest, sharpest images. Digital Source Sampling has the added benefit of minimizing image artifacts and reducing environmental influences, such as electrosurgical unit interference.

Image 1 has an ergonomic design, which provides ease of operation and one-handed manipulation. Access to eight reprogrammable camera-control operations from the sterile field ensures complete control. The integrated 2x parfocal optical zoom (14- to 28-mm) provides optimal image size with all telescopes, reducing camera/telescope movement.

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