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Video colonoscopes designed with integrated optical scanning laser microscopy capabilities. These colonoscopes include all the components of a standard video colonoscope (i.e., external sheath, fiberoptic cable, image detector such as a charge-coupled device [CCD]) and an integrated confocal microscopy system that consists of a miniature microscope (usually with a diameter of a few millimeters) located at the tip of the endoscope, a fiberoptic light cable to transmit and receive light from tissue, an external confocal image data processor with appropriate software, and a confocal monitor to display the microscopic image. Confocal microscopy video colonoscopes are intended for high-resolution (typically 1 micron) in vivo histology assessments of both the surface mucosa and horizontal slices below the surface of the colon and other lower gastrointestinal tract sections; they can also perform all the other diagnostic and therapeutic functions of video colonoscopes.
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