Disposable Video Camera Is 1.2 mm in Diameter and 5 mm long

When the camera is incorporated into endoscopes doctors are able to receive a direct visual image of the narrowest lumens (cavities or channels within tubular structures) in the body. This would eliminate the need for invasive surgeries, X-rays, and other costly and sometimes risky procedures. Mounted on a disposable endoscope, the single-use camera is discarded after use, eliminating costly sterilization procedures.

Applications for the new camera also include treatments for the ear, nose, and throat. For example, a camera can be inserted into the nose, making anesthesia unnecessary. Gastroscopy, a complex examination of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, that currently requires anesthesia, could become a simple process that takes just a few minutes.

The imager was developed using Tower Semiconductor's (Migdal HaEmek, Israel) complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors found in digital cameras. The camera was developed using Medigus' (Omer, Israel) electronic, optic, and integration platform technologies.

The CMOS imager offers a high performance product at a low cost and combines sensitivity, high resolution, and dynamic versatility, allowing a variety of potential medical applications in growing markets. The new camera encompasses tiny electronics and objective lenses developed by Medigus, along with Tower's CMOS imager measuring only 700 µ x 700 µ.

Because the camera is designed mainly for medical applications, all of its components are biocompatible including the external tube of the camera (manufactured from biocompatible stainless steel or plastic polymer), camera cable (which has a biocompatible Teflon sheath), and optics (biocompatible glass or plastic polymer).


The camera is suitable for medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications for which current video cameras cannot be used due to their size. The miniature camera's outer diameter size, which includes a special housing, is only 1.2 mm and it is 5 mm long. The camera provides 100 degrees filed-of-view, and has 49,280 effective pixels providing 220 pixels horizontal, 224 pixels vertical resolution.

Medigus is a medical device company specializing in developing endoscopic procedures and devices. The company developed an endoscopic device for the treatment of GERD, one of the most common chronic diseases in the western world. It has an advanced technology platform that includes charge-coupled device (CCD) and CMOS video cameras.

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. manufactures integrated circuits with geometries ranging from 1.0-µ to 0.13-µ and provides complementary technical services and design support.

Related Links:
Tower Semiconductor Ltd.
Medigus