Borescopes and Fiberscopes
Often, medical and industrial procedures require visual inspection within small interiors that are obstructed from direct viewing by obstructions or enclosures. Borescopes and fiberscopes are devices that enable their users to conduct such visual inspections by being able to penetrate small diameter openings and circumvent obstructions. This product category provides a range of borescopes and fiberscopes to meet your visual inspection requirements.
What does a borescope or fiberscope consist of?Both terms refer to optical viewing systems that basically consist of an eyepiece or video screen at one end of a rigid or flexible narrow diameter tube and a lens or camera at the other. The user looks through the eyepiece or at the video screen and sees whatever is in front of the lens or camera at the other end.
As the tube has a small diameter, it can penetrate through apertures to see inside small interior spaces that an unaided human eye could not be positioned in order to observe. When the tube of a borescope or fiberscope is flexible, it can be bent or 'snaked' around obstructions to provide optimal viewing positioning.
What's the difference between borescope, boroscope, fiberscope, and endoscope?The general term for this class of visual inspection devices is "borescope."
'Borescope' is an alternative spelling.
A fiberscope is a specific type of borescope that utilizes a tube of optical fibers to convey visual inspection imaging from a lens. There are thousands of fibers in the fiberscope tube, with each fiber in the system providing a pixel of visual data to the eyepiece or camera.
The general term of 'borescope' can also refer to visual inspection devices that use cameras and electrical cables instead of lenses and fiber optics to provide imaging. In the past, fiberscopes provided higher pixel resolution than video scope devices, but with improving electronics technology some high-end video borescopes are able to match the resolution of fiberscopes.
Technically, an endoscope is a borescope used for medical inspection procedures. However, this terminology is often used casually and may not refer to a device officially approved for medical procedures. Always verify that a device referred to as an 'endoscope' by a seller is officially approved for medical procedures before such use.
What are some of the features common to borescopes?As interior spaces are often dark, borescopes come equipped with LED lights to provide scope illumination. Some cameras have their own dedicated monitors while others can be attached via USB for computer or smartphone screens. Some cameras use Wi-Fi transmitters attached to their tubes in order to wirelessly transmit visual telemetry to computers or smartphones.
Cameras can vary in resolution and offer features such as video capture.
What is the difference between borescope tubes?Aside from differences in diameter and length, borescope tubes come in two basic types. Flexible tubes can be bent around obstructions, while rigid tubes are useful in situations where a bendable tube would be unnecessary and more cumbersome to handle.