Timeline: The History of Endoscopy

Cystoscope – to examine the bladder, urethra, urinary tract, uteral orifaces, and prostate (men) with the insertion of the endoscope through the urethra

Doedenoscope – It is used to examine the liver’s biliary tree, the gall bladder, the pancreatic duct and anatomy, to check for stones, and other obstructions.

Bronchoscope – to examine the trachea and lung’s bronchial tree

Sigmoidoscope – to examine the rectum, and the sigmoid, and the descending portions of the colon

Colposcope – for the direct visualization of the vagina and cervix, to detect inflammation, cancer and other conditions

Ultrasound guided biopsies (endoscopic ultrasounds)

Pioneers in the Development of Endoscopy:

1908: Hysteroscopy by Charles David

Thoroscopy in 1910 and Laparoscopy in 1912, by Hans Christian Jacobeus

1937: Hope used laparoscopy to diagnose ectopic pregnancy

1944: Raoul Palmer gynec laparoscopy by placing patients in Trendelenburg position

1957: Basil Hirscowitz and Larry Curtiss invented the first fiber optic endoscope

[Dittrick Medical History Center]

“The first true endoscope was designed and built by German physician Phillip Bozzini in 1805.”

“In 1881, a noted Polish-Austrian surgeon named Johann von Mikulicz created the first-ever gastroscope which was used for the small intestine, stomach and esophagus”

1985 – Fujinon Introduced the world’s first flexible hysteroscope HYS-FT at Japan Society of Gynecologic and Obstetric Endoscopy.

The History of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

The History of Endoscopy

Popular Science Capsule Endoscopy Timeline: The History of Endoscopy

“From Images to Information in Digital Endoscopy
1. Acquisition: Advancements in diagnostic endoscopy were obtained by glass fibers for the transmission of electric light into and image information out of the body. Besides the pure wire-bound transmission of endoscopic imagery, in the past 10 years wireless broadcast came available for gastroscopic video data captured from capsule endoscopes [51].
2. Transportation: Based on digital technologies, essential basic processes of endoscopic still image and image sequence capturing, storage, archiving, documentation, annotation and transmission have been simplified. These developments have initially led to the possibilities for tele-diagnosis and tele-consultations in diagnostic endoscopy, where the image data is shared using local networks or the internet [52].
3. Enhancement: Methods and applications for image enhancement include intelligent removal of honey-comb patterns in fiberscopic recordings [53], temporal filtering for the reduction of ablation smoke and moving particles [54], image rectification for gastroscopes. Additionally, besides having an increased complexity, they have to work in real time with a maximum delay of 60 milliseconds, to be acceptable for surgeons and physicians.
4. Augmentation: Image processing enhances endoscopic views with additional type of information. Examples of this type are artificial working horizon, key-hole views to endoscopic panorama-images [55], 3D surfaces computed from point clouds obtained by special endoscopic imaging devices such as stereo endoscopes [56], time-of-flight endoscopes [57], or shape-from polarization approaches [58]. This level also includes the possibilities of visualization and image fusion of endoscopic views with preoperative acquired radiological imagery such as angiography or CT data [59] for better intra-operative orientation and navigation, as well as image-based tracking and navigation through tubular structures [60].
5. Content: Methods of content-based image analysis consider the automated segmentation, characterization and classification of diagnostic image content. Such methods describe computer-assisted detection (CADe) [61] of lesions (such as e.g. polyps) or computer-assisted diagnostics (CADx) [62], where already detected and delineated regions are characterized and classified into, for instance, benign or malign tissue areas. Furthermore, such methods automatically identify and track surgical instruments, e.g. supporting robotic surgery approaches.