Paper
12 February 2008 Quantitative assessment of degradation of the optical quality of rigid endoscopes in clinical practice
Herke Jan Noordmans, Sander Kruit, Patrick Stroosnijder, Henk van den Brink, Rudolf Verdaasdonk
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Abstract
To improve efficiency and diagnostics, an optical testbench was developed for routine assessment of the optical quality of endoscopes during their lifespan. An endoscope is positioned on an optical bench looking at a small LCD screen showing computer generated test targets. Images through the endoscope are captured by a high-resolution USB-2 camera, analyzed with dedicated software and stored in a database. Additionally, the transmission of the illumination fibers of the endoscope is determined using a calibrated LED light source and a photo cell. The database enables the tracking of the degradation of each endoscope over time and comparison with other endoscopes of the same type. Using the data collected and the optical quality of new endoscopes as reference, criteria are developed to reject endoscopes at some point in their lifespan. Experience with the optical testbench over the last two years shows that: 1) Optical quality can be measured reproducible over time, 2) degradation in optical quality is often gradually, but may also occur suddenly, and 3) there is a large variation (>20%) in optical quality of new or repaired endoscopes. Routine quantitative assessment of the optical quality of endoscopes will contribute to the efficiency and the quality of surgery.
© (2008) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Herke Jan Noordmans, Sander Kruit, Patrick Stroosnijder, Henk van den Brink, and Rudolf Verdaasdonk "Quantitative assessment of degradation of the optical quality of rigid endoscopes in clinical practice", Proc. SPIE 6849, Design and Quality for Biomedical Technologies, 68490K (12 February 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.763562
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Cited by 1 scholarly publication and 1 patent.
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KEYWORDS
Endoscopes

LCDs

Cameras

Optical fibers

Calibration

Databases

Light emitting diodes

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