The purpose of this study was to investigate materials for the manufacture of sub-millimeter disposable medical devices, especially medical devices with an integrated deformable structure that operates by elastic deformation without the need for assembly processes. The results showed that molding at a sintering temperature of 1250℃ resulted in a material with mechanical strength comparable to that of macro-size forceps. We fabricated a full-size micro grasping forceps from the obtained material and conducted a grasping operation verification experiment. The results showed that the forceps deformed to the closed state, opened and closed in all 10 consecutive trials, and no plastic deformation was observed from image comparison, and it was judged to operate within the range of elastic deformation.

  Ciliary activity is vital to mucosal health, but practical methods to evaluate ciliary activity in the outpatient setting are lacking. This study developed a method for the in vivo clinical observation of sinonasal ciliary activity by nasal endoscopy during/after endoscopic sinusitis surgery. An endomicroscope has been developed in which one NTSC pixel of the screen is 2.4x2.6 μm in size, by equipping a conventional rigid nasal endoscope with a newly developed zoom attachment. The device was used to observe mucous fluid wave reflections (MFWRs), namely specular reflections of the endoscopic light by waves produced by cilia beating on the nasal mucosa, in ten subjects who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for chronic rhinosinusitis at an outpatient clinic. MFWRs were videorecorded, and the endomicroscopic images were used to subjectively evaluate the intensity of MFWRs on a scale of 0 to 5 during ESS and during a follow-up period of up to six months after surgery. MFWRs were observable in three patients on the surface of edematous mucosa and in four patients on the polypoid mucosa. MFWR intensity did not consistently increase after surgery. In conclusion, we developed an endomicroscope which allows noninvasive observation and videorecording of MFWR patterns indicative of ciliary activity on human nasal mucosa. This device is compatible with other rigid endoscopes and represents a potentially useful tool for routine outpatient examination.