ENDOSCOPIC APPARATUS COMPRISING A FIBER OPTIC CABLE CONNECTOR

摘要

Images from a surgical area may be relayed to a camera (36) outside the sterile field by means of a fiber optic cable (16, 26). Cost issues associated with the long fiber optic cable are avoided by breaking it into two segments, only one of which is likely to be damaged during use. An image preserving connection is formed between the cable segments (16, 26) by a connector (20) that fixes the ends of the cables in close proximity to one another, but a certain fixed distance apart. This configuration allows an image preserving connection to be made between two fiber optic cables without the aid of a lens.