Tanabe T, Yokota A, Sugie S
Surgery. 1980 Apr;87(4):375-9.
A slender, flexible cardiovascular fiberoptic endoscope has been developed. It is 4.0 mm in diameter and 120 cm in length. It is introduced through the peripheral vessels, and endoscopy is performed similarly to the procedure of the cardiac catheterization. It has been applied in 45 patients, for the preoperative and intraoperative diagnoses of various heart diseases in 25 and in 20 for the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative diagnoses of various vascular diseases. Most applications were aimed at the accurate preoperative diagnosis of an atrial septal defect. With flexible endoscope, the right sides of the heart and vascular lumens were clearly visualized. There were no infections, and no apparent injuries of the cardiovascular system were produced by the insertion and manipulation of the endoscope. It is concluded that the first step toward the use of cardiovascular endoscope as an adjunctive diagnostic procedure has been achieved.
一种细长、灵活的心血管纤维光学内窥镜已研制成功。其直径为4.0毫米，长度为120厘米。它通过外周血管插入，内窥镜检查的操作方式与心导管插入术类似。它已应用于45例患者，其中25例用于各种心脏病的术前和术中诊断，20例用于各种血管疾病的术前、术中和术后诊断。大多数应用旨在准确进行房间隔缺损的术前诊断。借助柔性内窥镜，可以清晰地看到心脏右侧和血管腔。未发生感染，内窥镜的插入和操作也未对心血管系统造成明显损伤。得出的结论是，将心血管内窥镜用作辅助诊断程序的第一步已经实现。
