A flexible veterinary endoscope is designed to examine the gastrointestinal tract of horses. It contains two distinct types of optical fibre bundles.
Identify the two types of optical fibre bundles used in this instrument. Compare their functions, and explain why optical crosstalk (light leakage) between adjacent fibres must be prevented by cladding in one bundle but is acceptable in the other.
In long-distance optical communication networks, single-mode fibres and narrow-band laser light are routinely used to minimise modal and material dispersion.
Explain why these design choices are unnecessary for a 1.5-metre medical endoscope, and evaluate the specific ways in which implementing these two design choices would compromise the clinical diagnostic utility of the endoscope.
