Both industrial endoscopes and medical endoscopes are endoscopes in terms of name. Medical endoscopes appeared earlier. Industrial endoscopes are produced on the basis of medical endoscopes. The basic principles of the two are the same. According to the development and imaging structure, they can also be divided into: hard tube endoscopes, fiber endoscopes, electronic endoscopes, etc. So what is the difference between industrial endoscope and medical endoscope?

，从名称上看，两者的用途是不同的。

First of all, from the name point of view, the two purposes are different.

工业内窥镜是工业用途的无损检测设备，能对弯曲管道深处以及人眼不能直视的部位进行观测，能实现远距离观察与操作。采用工业内窥镜，无需拆卸或损坏，就可以方便而且迅速地检查各种机器、设备、组装物体的内部，在石油化工、汽车零部件制造、航空航天、警用安保、轨道交通等行业，都有着广泛的用途。

Industrial endoscope is a non-destructive testing equipment for industrial use. It can observe the depth of curved pipeline and the parts that can not be looked directly by human eyes, and can realize long-distance observation and operation. The industrial endoscope can easily and quickly inspect the interior of various machines, equipment and assembled objects without disassembly or damage. It is widely used in petrochemical, auto parts manufacturing, aerospace, police security, rail transit and other industries.

医用内窥镜是一种常用的医疗器械，主要用于对人体的常规医疗检查和外科手术中，使用时，将内窥镜经人体的天然孔道，或者是经手术做的小切口导入待检查的器官，可直接窥视有关部位的变化，配合使用其他手术器械就可以在体外进行体内的密闭手术操作。具有操作灵活简便、减少病患痛苦、提率等优点，医用内窥镜的功能性微创手术技术已近得到医生和患者的广泛接受。

Medical endoscope is a commonly used medical instrument, which is mainly used in the routine medical examination and surgical operation of the human body. When in use, the endoscope is introduced into the organ to be examined through the natural pore of the human body or the small incision made by the operation, which can directly spy on the changes of relevant parts. Combined with other surgical instruments, the closed surgical operation in the body can be carried out in vitro. It has the advantages of flexible and simple operation, reducing patient pain and improving efficiency. The functional minimally invasive surgery technology of medical endoscope has been widely accepted by doctors and patients.

其次，因为用途不同，两者对材料、成像等方面的要求也不同。因为医用内窥镜伸到人体内与人体会接触产生摩擦，为了避免产生不适感以及不必要的损伤，所以通常选用比较柔软的材料。而工业内窥镜一般是伸到工业设施内部，经常与金属等坚硬材质摩擦，所以通常选用耐磨性较好的材料(如钨钢丝)做外层。此外，两者的成像虽然都是清晰的，但是前者的用途是观察人体内部器官，因此更关注图像的色彩和柔和度;而工业内窥镜的观察对象是相对狭小空间内的金属，因此需要考虑金属反光、照明强度等问题，以确保成像的清晰。

Secondly, because of different uses, they have different requirements for materials and imaging. Because the medical endoscope extends into the human body and will contact with the human body to produce friction, in order to avoid discomfort and unnecessary damage, relatively soft materials are usually selected. Industrial endoscopes generally extend into industrial facilities and often rub with hard materials such as metal, so materials with good wear resistance (such as tungsten steel wire) are usually used as the outer layer. In addition, although both images are clear, the former is used to observe the internal organs of the human body, so it pays more attention to the color and softness of the image; The observation object of industrial endoscope is the metal in a relatively narrow space, so it is necessary to consider the problems such as metal reflection and lighting intensity to ensure the clarity of imaging.

以上对工业内窥镜和医用内窥镜的不同之处进行了简要的介绍。目前，有的内窥镜厂家两种产品都有，有的厂家则是从医用内窥镜起家，后转向工业内窥镜。

The differences between industrial endoscope and medical endoscope are briefly introduced. At present, some endoscope manufacturers have both products, while others start from medical endoscopes and then turn to industrial endoscopes.