Borescope

Endoscopy is the examination and inspection of the interior of body organs, joints or cavities through an endoscope. An endoscope is a device using fiber optics and powerful lens systems to provide lighting and visualization of the interior of a joint. An endoscopy cart is a specially designed workstation with static or retractable drives in double or vertical / tower configurations. There are motorized and non-motorized carts. The WM-60 is very popular model, described in the lines bellow.

As the endoscope technology continues to evolve, the conventional trolleys previously used to house the scopes and at the same time support equipment are increasingly becoming unable to meet the more sophisticated demands of the modern endoscopy environment. Some had to be done to address this problem, because in a hospital, the environment must be organized in the best possible way. The personnel must know the exact location of each and every device. And those devices are getting more and more as machines are steadily making their way in modern day health care.

Considering all that, KeyMed‘s Research & Development department, having over 25 years‘ experience in ancillary product design, was asked by Olympus /the leading company for producing endoscopes/ to conduct a study to establish the best design options which would allow use of all the necessary support equipment within a compact footprint.

During this process, a lot of different alternatives were considered but it soon became clear that to give the complex detailing required for the best functionality and visual effect, the endoscopy cart had to be made primarily from a moulded material.

Researchers had to select the right material, so they turned to the automotive and aerospace industries, where strong materials are frequently needed for use in hostile environments. This investigation came to the conclusion that an ideal material for the main structural components would be glass reinforced polyester (GRP). Comprehensive Testing Having selected GRP, the design team had to be completely assured of its suitability, so structural strength, life-cycle durability and even simulated abuse of the trolley were all extensively tested.

The vital structural components like the monitor platform and shelves, were designed using computer aided systems with finite element analysis to assess the material and predict its behavior under long-term stress conditions. This new computer technology introduced in the design of medical equipment resulted in dramatic changes to some of the structural components, to improve strength and durability. For example, the integral web construction of the shelf was designed as a result of the finite element analysis. Along with all that, the WM-60 is made with stability as one of the main factors. It is of vital importance to have a stable endoscopy cart in case an earthquake or any other type of factor that might destabilize the system. Therefore, engineers designed the WM-60 in such way that it now passes a 10° tilt test in all four directions.

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