The principles of fiber optics have been successfully applied to colorectal instruments used in diagnosis of neoplasm of the colon and rectum, according to a New York physician.
Robert Turell, MD, associate professor of clinical surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, also reported on newer techniques of biopsy and therapy of cancer of the rectum.
"Recently, the fiber optic principles of light and image transmission through a bundle of hair-like glass fibers have been introduced and perfected," Turell said. He incorporated the fiber optic principles into colorectal instruments by developing:
A rigid sigmoidoscope with proximal illumination;
A rigid sigmoidoscope with distal illumination; and
A flexible fiber optic coloscope similar to the fiber optic esophagoscope.
A flexible fiber optic light carrier transmits an intense beam of light from a special light source to these endoscopes, Turell explained.
"The flexible sigmoidoscope with proximal illumination is far superior to its conventional counterpart as