A videoscope is a - usually flexible - endoscope with an integrated micro-camera. 

 

How does a videoscope exactely work?

Optoelectronically:

Similar to a digital camera, the object is projected by an objective lens onto a sensor which produces an electronic image signal. This signal is transferred in the endoscope via a thin cable to an evaluation unit in which the signal is processed and made available as a standard signal (usually TV PAL or TV NTSC).

 

New on the market is the VIPAQ™ technic. This is a vidoescope with a direct USB digital output to the computer and an additional normal S-Video (Y/C) output. Any electronic control unit is not required. The complete electrocic is inbuilt in the handle.

For more information about the VIPAQ™ product, please click here.

 

Mechanically:

Flexible videoscopes are mechanically similar to flexible (optical-fibre) endoscopes. They consist of a movable tip, a flexible shaft and a handle. The tip including an objective lens and a sensor is controlled from the handle by means of Bowden wires in 2 or 4 directions depending on the design. The handle may include other control elements (e.g. remote control for image storage).

 

Illumination:

The illumination of flexible videoscopes is nearly always identical to the one used in flexible optical-fibre endoscopes. Light is transferred from an external light source via glass fibre bundles to the tip, where it emerges.

 

 

What are the features of WOLF videoscopes?

• Robust Bowden wires with manual control. The user feels how the equipment responds – field workers will appreciate this advantage.
• Extremely short heads, i.e. they can be used in relatively tight bends of tubes.
• High-quality, coated multiple-lens objectives, exchangeable in some versions.
• Shaft sheathed with an optimised tungsten wire braid.
• Shaft not penetrable by water and most technical liquids.

 

When should videoscopes be preferred to (optical-fibre) endoscopes?

• Videoscopes provide a resolution of several 100,000 camera pixels, which is significantly higher than in flexible endoscopes.
• Videoscopes are more light-intensive than a flexible endoscope combined with a camera.
• Videoscopes can be built with longer lengths too.
• Videoscopes are ideal where several people look at the picture simultaneously.