The endoscope bending section, also known as the bending assembly at the distal end of a flexible endoscope, is the core structural component that enables multi-angle deflection for flexible endoscopes. It allows the scope to navigate narrow and complex lumens, and is widely used in both medical endoscopes and industrial endoscopes.

1. Main Application Fields

Medical Endoscopes (Core Application)

The bending section serves as the steerable unit at the tip of flexible endoscopes. Its structure enables multi-directional deflection to access complex human lumens for visual inspection, lesion diagnosis and minimally invasive intervention. Typical devices include gastroscopes, colonoscopes, bronchoscopes, urological endoscopes and gynecological flexible scopes, which are used in clinical departments such as gastroenterology, respiratory medicine, urology and gynecology.

Industrial Endoscopes

Certain industrial inspection endoscopes are also equipped with bending sections. Without equipment disassembly, they can be inserted into confined enclosed spaces to detect cracks, corrosion, foreign matter and other defects inside aerospace components, pressure pipelines, petrochemical pipelines and automotive parts.

2. Core Functions of Bending Sections in Medical Endoscopes

(1) Flexible Steering: The bending section is assembled by stacking 20–40 stainless steel or POM thin sheets. It achieves a maximum deflection angle of ≥210°, adapting to the tortuous anatomy of human lumens.

(2)Coordinated Operation: Linked with traction control mechanisms, it allows physicians to perform delicate procedures at the scope tip, including biopsy sampling, foreign body retrieval and delivery of minimally invasive instruments.

(3) High Fatigue Resistance: Compliant with pharmacopoeia requirements, the bending fatigue life reaches ≥30,000 cycles. High-end versions are designed for over 50,000 cycles to support repeated clinical applications.

3. Materials and Manufacturing Processes

(1) Material Selection: Medical grade 304L stainless steel is the primary material, featuring resistance to body fluid corrosion and excellent biocompatibility. POM (polyoxymethylene) is adopted for partial structures.

(2) Machining Process: Bending sections are mass-produced via chemical etching. Dimensional tolerance is controlled within ±0.02 mm with burr-free edges, suitable for ultra-precision micro assembly.

4. Industry Development Trends

Medical Sector

With the growing adoption of minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment, upgrading of primary medical equipment, and industrialization of single-use endoscopes, market demand for endoscope bending sections keeps rising. Meanwhile, the iteration of high-end 4K, 3D and fluorescence endoscopes sets stricter requirements on bending assemblies in terms of dimensional accuracy, fatigue life and imaging coordination performance.

Industrial Sector

The rising demand for non-destructive testing (NDT) in aerospace, automotive manufacturing, petrochemical and other industries expands the application of steerable industrial endoscopes with bending structures.

Summary

Endoscope bending sections are mainly applied to medical flexible endoscopes and also supplied for industrial inspection endoscopes. In medical scenarios, they are critical structures for endoscopes to access human lumens for diagnosis and minimally invasive surgery. In industrial scenarios, they are used for non-destructive inspection of enclosed components and pipelines. As precision medical device components, these products must meet stringent standards for biocompatibility, fatigue resistance, machining accuracy and cleanliness. They represent core technical components in the field of precision microfabrication.