Patent ID: 9549662
Date: 2017-01-24
CPC Classifications: A61B,G02B,Y10T

Claim:
1. An endoscope working assembly, comprising: an imaging fiber bundle having a plurality of fiber cores, the fiber cores arranged to receive light at a distal end from a field of view and to transmit the light to a proximal end of the fiber cores and emit the light from the proximal end; an electronic imaging sensor, including multiple individual light sensing pixels, configured to produce electrical video signals in response to receiving the light, the imaging sensor optically coupled to the imaging fiber bundle to receive the light from the proximal end of the fiber cores with the fiber cores butt-coupled to the imaging sensor such that the image from each fiber core is received by at least one of the light sensing pixels; a working assembly connector fitting connected to the imaging fiber bundle and the electronic imaging sensor and configured to engage an imaging assembly connector fitting of an imaging assembly to removably attach the working assembly to the imaging assembly and arranged to electrically communicate the electrical video signals from the electronic imaging sensor to the imaging assembly; and an illumination arrangement including at least one illumination fiber extending from a proximal end at the working assembly connector fitting to a distal end substantially adjacent to the distal end of the imaging fiber bundle fiber cores, and at least one illumination source arranged to emit light that is optically coupled to the proximal end of the illumination fiber to transfer the emitted light through the illumination fiber to the distal end of the illumination fiber to illuminate the field of view, and the working assembly connector fitting is arranged to receive electrical energy from the imaging assembly connector fitting for powering the illumination source.