Plenary lecture 6: integration of high-power light emitting diodes (LED's) and high-resolution colour camera into endoscopes for medical applications

The increasing number of minimally invasive procedures is likely to increase the demand for long lasting, easy to use, efficient and reliable endoscopes. In addition to this there is an urgent need for a portable, lightweight endoscope using LED technology to be used in the field in disaster and war zones, and for training medical students. A compact and low-cost endoscope would be highly sought after by surgeons all over the world. It is the desired outcome of this work to develop a low-cost, portable system to fulfil these needs. Not only will a low-cost instrument find usage in the medical field it can also be applied to many others including engineering, the built environment, aerospace and many others when access for visual inspection is difficult. The portability of the device and its lack of reliance on a connection to a mains power source means that it can be applied virtually anywhere in the field thus making minimally-invasive surgery possible in otherwise impossible regions. This should lead to speedier procedures which are not only good for the patient but also have better economic viability.

Because it is proposed to use LED's in the design to replace bulky, inefficient and expensive light sources which have colour-mixing features, the endoscope will also have enhanced capability as a light source. Added to this, endoscope will also incorporate a miniature camera, it then becomes possible to transmit images over a wireless network (local or global) for assisted remote diagnosis.