Tip of Arthroscope

The tip, as mentioned earlier, is the part of the scope that is completely inside the joint during Arthroscopy. It can be made of any material that can transmit and focus the image onto the components within the shaft. Besides being able to transmit and focus light, the tip material also has to be hard enough to resist scratches from accidental brushing against the bones or any other hard instruments that are constantly inside the joint for surgical purposes. The hardest material that is used as a material for coating the tip is Sapphire. It should be appreciated that Sapphire is the best material for getting distortion-free transmission and focusing as well as hardest for maximum scratch resistance. Obviously, there is a price for better material and in this case it is the cost of the material. Thus, broadly speaking, Sapphire tipped scopes are the best but more expensive than the ordinary ones.

The tip of the Arthroscope is available in different angles with the long axis of scope. These different angles are 0deg, 30deg and 70deg. This tip angle defines the direction from which the image will be picked up. Thus, a 0deg scope will pick up image from the area straight in front of its tip. A 30deg scope, on the other hand, will pick up the image whose centre is at 30deg from the long axis of the scope which is also the direction of vision for the surgeon. Similarly, a 70deg scope looks at 70deg to the direction of vision.