The present invention discloses a flexible digital
ureteroscope that is at least partially disposable. The
ureteroscope comprises a single-use
catheter and a
handle. The
catheter comprises a distal end, a bend portion, and a proximal portion. The distal end has a rigid or semi-rigid shell that houses a set of micro lenses, an
image sensor microchip, and a plurality of LED light sources. A working channel extends along the entire
catheter and is coupled to a working channel port on the
handle to receive various medical devices and
irrigation lines during an
endoscopic procedure. In addition, the catheter includes one or more steering wires to control the distal end to bend towards a desired direction. The rigid or semi-rigid shell of the distal end is made of a mix of
polymer composite material with
graphene nano-filler for enhancing
thermal dissipation. The
handle may be a single-use handle or a reusable handle. In case the handle is a reusable handle, it includes a battery module and a
wireless communication module for communicating with a
host machine wirelessly. In case the handle is a single-use handle, to reduce cost, the handle does not include a battery module and / or a
wireless communication module. Rather, the single-use handle includes a
host interface for receiving power from the
host machine and transmits image data to the
host machine.