EET272 – Term Paper Mohammed N.

Haiderali

Fiber Optics in Medical Digital Imaging

Term Paper

Mohammed N. Haiderali

January 17, 2011

EET272 Fiber Optic Communications

Ecpi College of Technology

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EET272 – Term Paper Mohammed N. Haiderali

Sending thousands of copies of a five hundred-page book, in one second

might seem, well probably was impossible few decade ago, but now due to the

extravagant advancement in fiber optics technology, this is possible. Fiber optic

technology has broken all bandwidth-limiting boundaries in not only the

communication world, but also the ever-growing networking world. Fiber Optic has

brought many new ventures of opportunity and advancement in how we

communicate and process data. Fiber is now slowly being replaced with copper,

even though the upfront cost which is higher then copper, but fiber brings many

benefits over copper, such as fiber being nine times lighter then copper, dielectric,

which means fiber does not carry current. Another great aspect of fiber is that its

resistance to EMI, electromagnetic interference, something copper has to deal with

daily. Fiber is also much secure then copper, as the light passing through the core

cannot be tapped, intercepted or tampered with during passage, where as copper

sends electrical pulses can be intercepted. Fiber also doesn't have to deal with

attenuation, which is the loss of signal over the length of the cable.

Having fiber optic technology has made communication and networking

technology better and faster, but this isn’t where fiber optics amazing technology

stops. Aside from the communication and networking field, fiber optics have tapped

into many other various fields, which have changed the way people live.

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EET272 – Term Paper Mohammed N. Haiderali

One of the major fields that fiber optics has advanced in is the medical field.

In the medical field technology plays a very important role. The more advanced

technology gets, the better science gets at treating illness, which at one time

probably couldn't be treated.

Many instruments come into play when a surgery is undergone or when a

surgeon has to get inside of the body of the patient. When this is needed, a medical

instrument called endoscopes come into action[ CITATION End \l 1033 ]. The

insertion of endoscope is called endoscopy [ CITATION End \l 1033 ]. Endoscopy is a

small invasive surgical insertion of camera. Endoscopy is considered a keyhole or

seamless surgery. The main point of endoscopy is to allow surgeons to peer into the

body and examine organs without cutting or tearing through flesh and skin

[ CITATION End1 \l 1033 ].

Endoscopy uses a tool called Endoscope [ CITATION End \l 1033 ]. In todays

time since fiber technology has advanced and became integral part of medical tools.

Current endoscopes use fiber optics and powerful camera and lens system

[ CITATION Sur \l 1033 ]. Endoscopes come in two different types, either rigid or

flexible. Endoscopes allow different variations for viewing different organs. The

rigid endoscope starts of with an objective lens, then following with the rod lens,

following with ocular lens. After the lens and camera finish, the light fibers come

into play [ CITATION Sur \l 1033 ]. After the fiber there is a light source. Images and

videos from the small cameras travel through the tiny fibers out to the display. The

way the display works is that it takes the images from camera, which is sent through

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EET272 – Term Paper Mohammed N. Haiderali

the fibers out to the display [ CITATION Fib \l 1033 ]. This uses a technology called

Charge-Coupled Devices or CCD. CCD uses the fiber to send images and videos out

the display. It can capture and store image data. It also can produce 2D array of

individual elements that can store an electric charge and can also respond to about

seventy percent of the incident light. For fiber to work correctly, it requires a light

source. [ CITATION Fib \l 1033 ][ CITATION Fib \l 1033 ] Various light sources are

used in an endoscope. It can be a tungsten filament lamp, halogen reflector lamp,

which uses optimal use of light. Also a rare earth xenon lamp can be used which will

provide the most intense light and show true color display [ CITATION End \l

1033 ].

Since fiber technology has become better and fiber production also has

become better, the flexible endoscope is now also available. Unlike the rigid

endoscope, the flexible can be bent and moved as desired[ CITATION End1 \l 1033 ].

In the flexible endoscope, we see more action of the fiber. The bend radius of the

flexible endoscope is about 15mm. In the body of the endoscope, two fiber optic

cables are used [ CITATION End \l 1033 ]. Now we must keep in mind that a single

strand of fiber is much smaller then the single strand of human hair. So the carbon

footprint of fiber is extremely small. The first fiber is the light conduit [ CITATION

Fib \l 1033 ]. This fiber is the “flashlight” it emits light sent from the light source to

brighten the area of inspection. The second fiber is used for image transmission.

The image fiber can display a max resolution of 10,000 pixels per square millimeter

[ CITATION Fib \l 1033 ].

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EET272 – Term Paper Mohammed N. Haiderali

The first endoscope form took place in 1806 by Philipp Bozzini. It was

initially use to examine the canals and cavities of the human body. However at that

given time, technology wasn't this advanced and was very limited. At that time no

light source was used so examinations where dark and unclear. This still was a

break through at that time. Given today’s technology and the technology present in

1806, endoscope and endoscopy both have bought new light and new hope for

treating illness and examinations[ CITATION End \l 1033 ]

When imagining a rod, lenses, and fiber is being inserted into a human, it can

seem quite painful, but given the advancement in both camera lens and fiber optics

both combine and come together to from the smallest form of endoscope the

medical field has seen [ CITATION End1 \l 1033 ]. Some might argue that the small

footprint of the camera plays the important role in the small size of footprint, but if

we look it from a technical stand point and see that no matter how big or small the

camera can get, if what that camera see isn’t transmitted correctly outside to the

external display for the doctor or surgeon, then what is the point of even having a

small camera. The key player in making endoscopes what they are today is the fiber.

Fiber being pure glass and smaller then the human hair it can seamlessly go into the

human body without big cuts and insertions. In 1806, when the first endoscope was

used, the images were poor quality and dark. Fiber today solves this problem by

given a wide bandwidth for high-resolution images to be delivered instantly and

fiber with the help of the light source can illuminate the area of inspection to

provide a clear and sharp picture. The beauty of combining fiber optics with small

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EET272 – Term Paper Mohammed N. Haiderali

insertion cameras to make the smallest possible endoscope is readily available and

97 percent of the time used when endoscopy is necessary [ CITATION Sur \l 1033 ]

In the end, whether it is communication, networking, or even the ever-

growing medical field, fiber is turning into the most important aspect of how

technology operates in that field. With the combination of fiber optics and medicine,

it’s bringing easier and painless endoscopy surgeries.

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EET272 – Term Paper Mohammed N. Haiderali

Works Cited
Endoscopy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Endoscopy: www.endoscopy.com/vet/video.htm

Endoscope. (n.d.). Retrieved from VET:

www.vet.uga.edu/mis/Exotics/Exotics_Equipment/ exotics_equipment.html

Fiber . (n.d.). Retrieved from Roper Scientific : www.roperscientific.de/teffo.html

Fiber in Endoscopy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Health Library:

http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/yod/current/fibre.htm

Surgical Optics. (n.d.). Retrieved from Surgical Terms: Endoscopy: www.surgical-

optics.com/N_RTerms.html