Endoscopy with Digital Transmission of Images

Introduction: Nowadays, the use of images in medical practice is fundamental to examine hard places to be reached. This can be obtained by endoscopy or microscopy, by connecting one of these imaging instruments to a camera, and then transmitting images to a monitor. With the images one can guide the student of medicine, patient, and resident in relation to the anatomy, disease, and the procedures performed.

Methods: A 30-degree, 4-mm, 175-mm endoscope (Scholly) fixed on a video camera, connected via USB video capture to an Internet-ready computer and enabled data transmission via Skype to another computer in another room, connected to an image projector which enlarged the images. Initially, the endoscope was handled by the teacher in a patient identifying normal structures. Then one ear of a cadaver with a perforated eardrum and the removal of a foreign body were shown. Two students observed the examination on the monitor next to the teacher and four others in another room by means of the multimedia projection image. All the students were asked to observe the examination and listen to its description. After they identified the structures, they drew them and answered a questionnaire.

Results: All the students were able to recognize the ear and oral structures, indicating their positions in drawings (100%). Only one student in rhinoscopy failed to locate the inferior nasal concha (83.33%).

Conclusion: The work enabled the transmission and amplification of images to assist the learning of the ENT examination in an accessible and trivial way.