Abstract: An endoscope having an outer sheath, a handle, an optical window, and an optical module. The outer sheath includes a lumen extending between a proximal end and a distal end thereof. The handle is mounted at the proximal end of the outer sheath and includes an external data connector. The optical window is removably and sealingly mounted at the distal end of the outer sheath. The optical module is removably disposed within the distal end of the outer sheath and includes an integrated image sensor, an optical lens, and an optical module connector. The optical module connector is configured for selective disconnection from and reconnection to a mating line connector in electrical communication with the external data connector of the handle. The optical module and the outer sheath further include one or more alignment features configured to ensure correct radial and axial positioning.

Abstract: An endoscope having an insertion tube with a distal optical module and a releasable handle. In a semi-robotic embodiment, the handle comprises haptic controllers and a computer configured for steering and/or adjusting physical properties of the insertion tube in response to one or more command inputs from the haptic controllers. The computer may also convert image data received from the optical module into two-dimensional images displayable on a monitor. The endoscope may have inertial measurement units (IMUs) for providing data to the computer for creating a digital three-dimensional image representation of an anatomy model and/or for facilitating handling properties of the endoscope.