Summary
The video system represents a new endoscopic technique with major advantages, some
of which point the way into the future. This system permits a large number of persons
to participate directly in the examination. Documentation is more comprehensive and
more reliable, and pathological processes can be observed with the aid of video tape
recordings. It is to be expected that the optical elements of the video endoscope
will become smaller, while the instruments will become longer. Since there is no loss
of light with these endoscopes, it would appear possible that they will make the entire
small bowel accessible to inspection. Compared with conventional standards, the colour
quality on the video monitor screen, in particular in the red range, and of the video
photograph still leaves something to be desired. User-friendly equipment provided
with an automatic colour adaption facility, is required.
The good thing about the future is, of course, that it comes slowly - and this applies
to video endoscopy, too. Since July, 1984, our department has been acquiring experience
with the video endoscope manufactured by the firm of Welch Allyn, New York, and, in
the meantime, we have examined 97 patients with this system, 80 in the upper, 17 in
the lower gastrointestinal tract. The heart of the video endoscope is a light-sensitive
microprocessor silicon chip, roughly 4 × 4 mm in size, which acts like a miniature
television camera. Properly, it is termed a charge coupled device chip (CCD chip).
Utilizing the crystalline structure of the silicon chip, and its property for thermal
oxidation, such electronic components as diodes, capacitors and resistors are integrated
onto it. With the aid of this CCD chip, optical signals are converted to electrical
impulses and conducted, sequentially, to the video processor, and from thence to the
video monitor.
Key words:
Endoscopy - Video endoscopy - CCD chips - Video camera - Endoscopic documentation
