Angioscopy is a medical technique for visualizing the interior of blood vessels. In this technique, a flexible fibre bundle

endoscope An endoscope is an inspection instrument composed of image sensor, optical lens, light source and mechanical device, which is used to look deep into the body by way of openings such as the mouth or anus. A typical endoscope applies several modern t ...

catheter is inserted directly into an artery. It can be helpful in diagnosing (e.g., arterial embolism).MDGuidelines > Arterial Embolism And Thrombosis
From ''The Medical Disability Advisor'' by Presley Reed, MD. Retrieved on April 30, 2010 Angioscopy is also used as an adjunctive procedure during

vascular bypass A vascular bypass is a surgical procedure performed to redirect blood flow from one area to another by reconnecting blood vessels. Often, this is done to bypass around a diseased artery, from an area of normal blood flow to another relatively nor ...

to visualize valves within

venous Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated ...

conduits. The instrument used to perform angioscopy is called as angioscope. Scanning Fiber Endoscope (SFE) is an emerging technology which provides much higher resolution imaging, whilst maintaining a small form factor and flexibility. Coronary artery angioscopy, which first was used to reveal the presence of a blood clot in the coronary arteries of patients with unstable angina and myocardial infarction, is now widely used in catherization laboratories to visualize

stent In medicine, a stent is a metal or plastic tube inserted into the lumen of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open, and stenting is the placement of a stent. A wide variety of stents are used for different purposes, from expandab ...

References

Endoscopy {{surgery-stub