5 Must-Have Features in a rigid endoscope types

1. The appearance and shape of the rigid tube endoscopes and flexible tube endoscopes are different

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&#; Rigid tube endoscope: The main body of the mirror body cannot be bent or twisted, and the depth and distance of the rigid tube endoscope entering the body are much lower than those of the flexible tube endoscope.

&#; Flexible tube endoscope: the first standard of cavity mirror with soft and flexible body.

2. The internal structure of rigid tube endoscopes and flexible tube endoscopes is different

&#; Rigid tube endoscope: According to the structure, it can be divided into straight rod non-separable tube endoscope, straight rod separable tube endoscope, curved tube non-separable tube endoscope and curved tube separable tube endoscope four categories. Various types of rigid endoscope structures generally include an outer scope tube (or sheath), a scope body, a light guide beam interface, an eye end nozzle, and an imaging interface part.

Unlike flexible tube endoscopes, some rigid tube endoscopes have no instruments and water gas channels, such as laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, mediastinoscopy, arthroscopy, etc. All kinds of operating instruments need to enter the body cavity through another incision to complete the operation under the monitoring and cooperation of rigid endoscope.

&#; Flexible tube endoscope: generally includes the following basic structures: a front end, a bending part, an insertion tube, a manipulation part, an eye receiving part and an imaging interface part. The front end part is a rigid part, and the end surface is provided with a plurality of cavities and window surfaces, which are respectively an outlet hole for water supply and air supply, an outlet hole for biopsy forceps, an objective lens and a light guide window.

The water and air supply is a common outlet. When gas is injected, the gas enters the human body cavity from this hole to expand the cavity; when water is injected, the water comes out of this hole to wash the objective lens surface and the surgical field of vision, so that the field of view is kept clear. The outlet hole of negative pressure suction and biopsy forceps is the same nozzle. When too much liquid in the cavity hinders observation, press the suction button, and the liquid can be sucked into the suction bottle through this hole. Biopsy forceps and other therapeutic instruments also enter the body cavity through this hole.

The bending part is located between the front end and the insertion tube, and is composed of many annular parts to form a coiled tube, and each pair of adjacent annular parts can move in all directions. The insertion tube is also called the mirror body or the hose part, and the inside is all kinds of pipes and wires. The operation part includes angle control knob, suction valve button, water and air supply button and biopsy tube opening. The operator can operate various buttons here to complete endoscopy and treatment.

3. The application methods of rigid tube endoscopes and flexible tube endoscopes are different

&#; Rigid tube endoscope: It mainly enters the sterile tissues and organs of the human body or enters the sterile chamber of the human body through a surgical incision, such as laparoscope, thoracoscope, arthroscope, intervertebral disc mirror, ventriculoscope, etc.

&#; Flexible tube endoscope: It mainly completes the examination, diagnosis and treatment through the natural orifices of the human body. Such as gastroscope, colonoscopy, laryngoscope, bronchoscope, etc. mainly enter the human body through the human digestive tract, respiratory tract and urinary tract.

Hysteroscopy, cystoscopy and colonoscopy all have flexible and rigid scopes.

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Mascha Krapp, winter semester /11

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Endoscopy is a special method of visual inspection which is the oldest and also the most successful method of non-destructive construction testing. Endoscopy is part of every examination of the construction and is easy to carry out yet requires a lot of experience for correct use. Nature has equipped human beings with several powerful &#;testing devices&#;. Sight is the most powerful of the five senses. Visual inspection can be done with the naked eye, i.e. to take a closer look at a component or construction and detect and assess quality characteristics. As a rule, visual inspection is the first step in non-destructive testing. It is a superficial or near-surface test, the interpretation of which requires experience and detailed knowledge. This can however, result in inaccuracies and strong fluctuations in quality.

Fundamentals of visual inspection

The following points should be considered with visual inspection:

• Firstly, a good overview should be gained. The component or construction to be examined should be identified and marked, checked for completeness and disposition as well as type of construction.
• Then, particular characteristics should be specifically tested. These can be:
  • Shape deviances, for example, deviations of form in terms of dimensions, geometry or contours of the components which can be seen in deviations of planeness, straightness or parallelism. Shape deviations can also be seen on the surface in the form of ripples, grooves, scratches, flakes or similar.
  • Deflections, for example deviations in parallelism, perpendicularity, positioning, symmetry or similar characteristics.
  • Defects or errors in the form of flaws, inhomogeneities, cracks, pores or similar due to specific features of the production process.
  • Operational damage of the component, for example corrosion, signs of wear and tear and tarnishing

To view defects, angular corners, cracks or cavities more closely, endoscopes can be used for extended visual inspection.

The basic components of each endoscope are a light source, light guide and the endoscope itself, which transmits the image. There are four types of endoscopes:

• rigid endoscope
• articulated arm endoscope
• flexible endoscope
• video endoscope

Rigid endoscopes

Rigid endoscopes are most commonly used in civil engineering to detect defects and have a closer look at them. This sort of endoscope has the best type of image transmission as the image is not stripped down into individual pixels but transmitted via a special compound lens and if necessary magnified. The generated intermediate image can be viewed through the eyepiece. The object under examination can be illuminated with a subordinated optical fibre integrated within the endoscope and connected to a light source. This type of illumination provides a very strong illuminance in contrast to an incandescent lighting that can likewise be integrated into the endoscope. On the other hand, the latter has a very good illumination in the near zone as a very consistent light distribution is generated even though it provides a shorter illumination range.

The diameter of the endoscope can, depending on the application, be 1.5 to 15 mm. Depending on the application, the largest possible diameter should be chosen in order to achieve the best image quality and brightness. Additionally, different perspectives can be chosen: straight, sideways, diagonally straight or backwards. The viewing angle can also be set. The direction of sight can be varied by prism attachments or mirrors. Thus, for example, a cavity can be completely detected and analysed. In most applications, a focusable wide-angle image is preferred. The distance to the object can be in the scale of mm and be scaled up to dm.

Old endoscopy set. Rigid and flexible end pieces. Screw on camera and separate optical waveguide for illumination (light source not depicted in this image)

Articulated arm endoscope

Articulated arm endoscopes have the same basic structure as rigid endoscopes and are rarely used in civil engineering. With insertion of joints, the endoscope is separated into movable sections. Within the joints are deflection prisms that forward the image to the eyepiece and thus provide a good image quality.

Flexible endoscopes

This type of endoscope offers a larger freedom of movement than for example, do rigid endoscopes. With the exception of the lens and eyepiece, this endoscope is completely flexible and these need a different type of image transmission. Here the intermediate image generated by the lens is transferred via ordered optical fibres to the eyepiece. Every individual optical fibre transmits a pixel, thus the image quality depends on the number of fibres. Thus, it follows that the resolution and the image definition depends on the number of fibres. The diameter can be from 0.64mm to 20 mm. With the handling of this endoscope, special care must be taken that despite the high flexibility, it is not allowed to be folded, otherwise the optical fibres could break and each break of a fibre means the loss of a pixel. To take advantage of the full flexibility, the lens head can be controlled from outside by a manipulator. This is how the view direction or view angle can be set individually.

Video endoscopes

Video endoscopes are miniaturised video cameras in which a CCD camera chip is built into the endoscope&#;s head. Thus, the image transmission happens electronically. Its construction is very similar to that of the flexible endoscope. Another advantage of the video endoscope is the low-loss image transmission up to 20 meters. Illumination is also provided here via subordinated optical fibres. The digital image generated by the camera chip is typically processed by a processor and forwarded to an output monitor. The current state of the technology allows for the production of very small camera chips, so that video endoscopes with a diameter from 6 to 20 mm are available. In addition, documentation of the test is very easy with this type of endoscopy. Visualised images or video sequences can be recorded and saved on integrated storage media (SD-card) and at the same time, the date, position, tester and further important data can be added.

For almost all endoscopes various lenses and attachments are available that can be interchanged and attached. An attachment with a scaling similar to a crack magnifier can for example serve for the immediate measurement of characteristics.

Flexible video endoscope

Literature

For more information, please visit rigid endoscope types.

• Merkblatt über die Sichtprüfung und Endoskopie als optische Verfahren zur Zerstörungsfreien Prüfung im Bauwesen. Merkblatt B6 der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung e.V. Ausgabe .
• Sichtprüfung und Endoskopie. Skript der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung e.V. zur gleichnamigen Vorlesung.
• Endoskop. German Wikipedia.