People laughed when I made a DIY endoscope*. They are laughing on the insides of their faces now, and this Vietnamese Doctor can see them. After all, what is an endoscope but a really bendy telescope? So a lot of decent lenses, a good light and something to work out the pictures should be pretty easy to knock together.
Of course why would the NHS “knock-together” stuff when it can pay ‘30,000 quid for one? This does suggest there is not a lot of competition in the endoscope market however.
*a) I did not actually make an endoscope.
b) It was for looking into my flatmates room, rather than something as philanthropic as this.