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Q2. Suggested topic for journal writing: Fibre optics, which make use of total internal reflection of light are also used in medicine. For example a bronchoscope is inserted into through the mouth into the lungs. Light is sent down the outer fibres to illuminate the lungs and the reflected light returns up the central core set of fibres. Find out more about the use of fibre optics in other medical equipment such as endoscopes and colonoscopies.

A Journal: Applications of Fiber Optics in Medical Industry

Fiber Optics

Fiber Optics is a major invention which increases the efficiency of telecommunications and also the medical industry. Fiber Optics is a piece of tiny glass which is thinner than a strand of hair. It may be coated with a layer of plastic to prevent scratches as it the information might be refracted out of the tiny scratch. It works with the rule of total internal refraction whereby the information enters the fiber at an angle greater than the critical angle. Total internal refraction occurs and there is 0% signal loss. Copper wire has been replaced by it as there is lesser need to re-amplify the signals and the information transported remains clear. More information can also be carried as multiple optical fibers can be bundled together into the diameter similar to a copper wire. It has even now expanded to the medical industry, being used in the endoscopes and colonoscopies.

Endoscope

The use of fiber optics allows the doctors to catch a glimpse of the organs inside the body and to identify the illness that the patient is suffering without the need to make cuts on the body. Fiber optic endoscopes are delicate and expensive items. The fibers have to be made of special glass, and each fiber has to be coated with a layer of glass of a different refractive index. In addition the orientation of fibers in a bundle used for endoscopy has to be "coherent", that is, the spatial orientation of each one of thousands of fibers has to be constant and not tangled up like the fibers in a rope. Each endoscope has one set of fiber bundles to transmit light inside, and another set to transmit reflected light out to the eye of the viewer. Patients are usually given dosages of anesthesia. The endoscope is inserted into the body from the mouth, where it slides down the esophagus before reaching the stomach and small intestine. An endoscope has parts consisting of a rigid or flexible tube (of which contains the optical fibers), a light delivery system to illuminate the organ or object under inspection. The light source is normally outside the body and the light is typically directed via an optical fiber system, typically a relay lens system in the case of rigid endoscopes or a bundle of fiber optics in the case of a fiberscope, an eyepiece, an additional channel to allow entry of medical instruments or manipulators. It can be used to identify many different diseases in the intestines, duodenum and esophagus. The images can be viewed on a monitor and one black dot on the monitor represents one broken fiber.

The colonoscopies are inserted into the body via the rectum. Colonoscopy can remove polyps as small as one mm or less. It can go into the colon and parts of the bowel. Once polyps are removed, they can be studied with the aid of a microscope to determine if they are precancerous or not. The colonoscopies also make use of the fiber optic to transmit the view of the colon and bowel. This actually saves a lot of trouble without cutting open the stomach and performing operations and greatly decreases the after effects of treatments.