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Abstract

A hand-held portable arthroscope has a camera assembly and a disposable scope assembly rotatably attached to the distal end of the camera assembly. A probe which includes a fiber optic image guide and a plurality of optical illuminating fibers is rotatably mounted on the scope assembly, and is insertable into a body for imaging the internal structure of the body. The illuminating fibers extend through the scope assembly and are connected in light communication with a quartz halogen lamp for illuminating the internal body structure being imaged. To gather light from the illuminated internal structure of a body into which the probe has been inserted, a GRIN rod is attached to the distal end of the image guide. The image guide is bent near its distal end to offset the axis of the GRIN rod from the axis of the camera assembly, to enhance the field of view of the arthroscope when the scope assembly, which supports the image guide with GRIN rod, is rotated. Focussing optics are mounted in the camera assembly in light communication with the image guide. These focussing optics are axially movable within the camera assembly for focussing the image from the image guide. Light which passes through the focussing optics enters a camera head which is also mounted in the camera assembly. The camera head is in turn electrically connected to a video display device for producing an image of the internal structure of the body.

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First Claim