Video Endoscopes: The Future of Endoscopy

 

Video endoscopic equipment is similar to the fiber endoscopes in their mechanics. They have an additional CCD, or Charged Couple Device and electronics mounted on their tops that support their operation. The optical bundle (found in fiber endoscopes) is replaced by the to-and-fro wiring. The site of the ocular lens is occupied by other electronics and some switches that are located on the most upper location of the endoscope’s control head. Video endoscopes do not require the physician to hold any of its part near his/her eyes, and hence there are lesser hygiene issues like splash contaminations. The new video endoscopes also have wide possibilities for improvement in designs and for the creation of better handling techniques.

The CCD Chip

The CCD chip of the endoscope contains 33,000 to 100,000 photo cells that are also known as pixels or picture elements. These pixels receive the photons that are reflected back from the inner mucosal surfaces. The individual photo pixel receptors of the chip only respond to the degrees of dark and light and not to the colors. The colored CCDs have larger number of pixels that provide for the overlay of a number of filter stripes of primary colors. The pixels under a given stripe respond only to a particular color of light. The sequential or black and white CCDs can also be made much smaller and of potentially higher resolution by illuminating all of the pixels. These sequential images (gut pictures having a little blue, some green and mostly red) can be stored in a temporary and transient manner in the banks of the processor’s memory chips. They are then fed sequentially to red, green and blue electron guns of the television monitor. The computers have the sophisticated and advanced technology for processing the images and a large number of chips that can optimize the inner unitary CCD output.

Best Quality of Images

The screen image quality of the video endoscope is on par with the fiber endoscope in both resolution and color. Everyone can view an image simultaneously through a video endoscope with the same clarity that was previously restricted and reserved for endoscopists only. Digital signals given by video endoscopes simplify image manipulations, and its recording can open ways for the creation of better and newer methods of image analysis, transmission and enhancement. Olympus endoscopes have high quality and are offered in both video and fiber forms for different diagnosing conditions.

Preparing for Upper Endoscopy

 

Upper endoscopy is most commonly performed in order to evaluate the possible causes and problems that lie within the body organs including duodenum, stomach and esophagus. It evaluates symptoms like vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain in the upper region of the abdominal cavity, anemia and intestinal bleeding and difficulty swallowing. This method is more accurate and effective than the X-ray method in detecting abnormalities like tumors and ulcers that lie within the reach of the instrument. Endoscopy can also perform biopsy and cytology for the minute microscopic examination of tissues and deduce whether a tumor is malignant (cancerous) or benign.

Preparing for the Endoscopy

For a complete and safe examination, endoscopic equipment is used for performing a biopsy on an empty stomach. Doctors advise patients to refrain from drinking and eating for 6 hours before they have been scheduled for the procedure.

The patient must inform the doctor all kinds of health issues, problems, and allergies he/she is affected by and the kind of medications he/she is taking. The doctor reviews the information to decide which antibiotics can be given prior to the treatment and which medications needed to be avoided so that the patient is not affected by allergy during the course of the examination. Doctors can also hold on some medications or may adjust some so that they do not interfere with the procedure.

By reviewing the health information, the doctor can know which areas need special attention during the procedure. Some patients may suffer from lung and heart diseases, and the doctors can prevent any mishaps by being attentive beforehand. Before the patient receives the diagnostic treatment, he/she is sedated so that there is no painful feeling for him to fear.

A biopsy done by endoscopy does not necessarily mean that the patient is suffering from cancer. The channel created by endoscopy helps the doctor to pass other kinds of instruments which can treat strictures, remove polyps and other benign growths (not cancerous), retrieve objects that have been swallowed accidentally and treat bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The massive capabilities of endoscopy equipment have reduced the need for surgery and transfusion to a great extent and have also made treatments cheaper and less time consuming.