Application of Endoscopy Technology in Medical Field

Endoscope is an optical instrument with a history of 200 years since its appearance. With the rapid development of advanced scientific technology, endoscopes have made great progress in terms of types and levels, ranging from rigid and fiber endoscopes to electronic endoscopes and ultrasonic electronic endoscopes. Due to the advantages of thinner outer diameter, clearer and more intuitive images, and convenient operation, electronic endoscopes are gradually replacing fiber endoscopes.

Medical Applications of Endoscope

In the late 1960s, as a new technology, fiber optic manufacturing technology was quickly applied to medical equipment. Due to the good ability and quality of fiber optic transmission of light, as well as its flexibility and suitability for making soft endoscopes, the fiber endoscope system consists of an endoscope body and a cold light source.

Inside the body of the fiberoptic endoscopy are two fiber optic bundles: one called the light beam, which is used to conduct the light produced by the cold light source to the surface of the object being observed, illuminating the surface being observed. The other, called an image beam, arranges tens of thousands of fiber optics with a diameter of less than 1 micrometer in rows, with one end aligned with the eyepiece and the other end aligned with the surface under observation through a lens. Without distortion, it can transmit images from one end to the other. Doctors can see the surface of organs very intuitively through the eyepiece, which is helpful for early and accurate diagnosis.

Electronic Endoscope, the Third Eye of Doctors

In the development of modern medicine, endoscopy technology is an effective means of diagnosing and treating the internal organ lesions. It penetrates into the human body through natural cavities or small surgical incisions and uses external electronic imaging equipment to perform precise examinations and treatments on human organs and tissues. The emergence of endoscopes can be called an extension of the surgeon's eyes.

The development of endoscopes has a history of more than 200 years, and its development stages can be divided into rigid endoscopes, semi-flexible endoscopes, fiber endoscopes, ultrasonic and electronic endoscopes. From black and white to color, from standard definition to high definition, from flat to stereo, endoscopes are becoming more and more popular in clinical medicine. In layman's terms, hard tube endoscopes and semi-flexible endoscopes belong to hard endoscopes, while fiber endoscopes, ultrasonic and electronic endoscopes belong to soft endoscopes, with a flexible body that can be freely bent. Hard endoscopes are mainly used to enter human sterile tissues and organs or enter the human sterile cavity through surgical incisions, such as laparoscopy, arthroscopy, and intervertebral discoscopy. Soft endoscopes mainly complete examinations, diagnoses, and treatments through natural human cavities, such as gastroscopy, colonoscopy, and laryngoscopy. The examinations of electronic gastroscopes and colonoscopes are common in daily life, and they have gradually become a necessary part of early cancer screening and basic physical examinations, also being one of the most popular branches in the field of endoscope.

Therefore, it can be seen that the quality of fiberoptic endoscopy is mainly determined by the quality of the image beam. The more fiber optics in the image beam, the better the image quality. In addition, traction mechanisms that can control the front end of the mirror to bend in four directions up, down, left, and right are also designed on the endoscope body, as well as pipes that can inject water and gas into the surface of the object under inspection, and a special path for inserting biopsy forceps. These designs make it convenient for doctors to perform simple treatments and procedures while examining patients, making it very easy to operate.