A flexible endoscope (100) includes a handle (102), a flexible shaft (104) having a distal end (106) and a proximal end (108), a coupling mechanism (114) releasably attaching the handle (102) to the distal end of the flexible shaft (104), an illumination unit (202) disposed in the flexible shaft, the illumination unit providing light to an area in front of the distal end of the flexible shaft, and an imaging unit (204) disposed in the flexible shaft, the imaging unit generating image data of the area in front of the distal end of the flexible shaft, wherein the coupling mechanism (114) includes an electrical channel (302) for transmitting electrical power to the illumination unit and the imaging unit, and a data channel (304) for transmitting the image data from the imaging unit.
