Electromagnetic direct linear drives for medical endoscopes

Abstract

Today many medical interventions are performed minimally-invasive, with great benefits for the patient. The image is taken with an endoscope and displayed on a screen. Present Chip-on-the-Tip Endoscopes do not offer an autofocus or an optical zoom, which improves image quality as well as flexibility whereas these are standard techniques in most other applications, for example consumer cameras. Electromagnetic direct linear drives are due to their small dimensions and high dynamics well suited for these tasks. Different drives were developed at the chair of Electromechanical and Optical Systems at the Technische Universität Berlin. These actuators move continuously or have one or more stable positions that can be switched with a short current pulse. The actuator choice depends on the application. Another advantage of these drives is their scalability, which offers solutions for a great variety of tasks to adapt them in existing systems.