Newly developing endoscopic devices--shadow optics and micromachine.

Based on the newly-developed engineering technologies, many kinds of useful equipment have been available for minimally invasive surgery. Recently the time to connect clinical needs and advanced technologies has become faster. In this article, we have summarized the recent technologies for endoscopic surgeries. Shadow optic technologies for better geometric perception using dual illumination in a conventional 2-D monitor and "Overview optics" for a panoramic view with an additional visual system are introduced. Micromachine technology is very close to practical implementation for minimally invasive surgeries. Virtual Biopsy is the one of the hottest topics for the next generation of endoscopy. Stereoscopic and volumetric vision systems are still on the way, which should overcome the irritating goggles and stereo display devices. As well as operational theater that integrates all the required equipment with a computer-based system, including voice recognition, still requires the standard protocols to connect many kinds of devices from different manufacturers.