A motorized hand-held flexible rhino endoscope in ENT diagnoses and its clinical experiences

Flexible rhino endoscopes have been more and more used in many surgical and diagnostic procedures, like rhinoscopy in nasal and oral cavity to examine the tumor or polyp. The bendable character of the flexible endoscope facilitates the examination of anatomic structures in the nasal cavity. However, its manipulation is complex, especially when the flexible shaft of the endoscope is inside the patient's body. In this paper, we propose a new concept and prototype system to manipulate a flexible rhino endoscope in ear-nose-throat (ENT) diagnoses. Our primary goal was that the physician could hold and steer the device with a single hand. The prototype system consists of three components: a conventional flexible rhino endoscope, a manipulator to guide the endoscope, and a laptop to control the manipulator. The results of our experiments and the clinical applications show that the system fulfills the clinical requirements and is well suited for using in routine diagnostic procedures.