Abstract
It is important that a peritoneoscope ensures any physician to operate easily and take sharp photographs. We have developed a new system for peritoneoscopy in collaboration with the Olympus Optical Co. and report here clinical experience with this system. This is the first time that an (automatic exposure) camera with the automatic flash volume con-trol system is applied to the rigid scope. The system consists of a light quide type scope, a 16mm automatic exposure camera adapter with an automatic winder and an extracorporeal light source equipped with a flash facility (Table 1, 2, Fig. 1 and 2). The scope optics provide improved resolution minimizing curvature of field, and opti-mum light distribution ensures virtually uniform illumination throughout the visual field. As this light source incorporates a high-output flash tube, bright images can be obtained despite the light quide type illumination. This system automatically offers clear photographs irrespective of the distance to the object (Fig. 6, 7, 9, and 11). By using 35mm manual exposure camera with focusing adapter, images 24-31mm in diameter can be produced (Fig. 8, 10 and 12). We feel that this new system proved easier to operate and safer than the conventional equipment, and will be useful for the diagnosis of the liver diseases and other intraperitoneal lesions.
