Three magnetic field generating coils on the distal end side of the shape detection probe are provided in the curvable portion, and the first coil at the leading end position is placed at the position corresponding to the leading end curvable piece, whereas the third coil at the position corresponding to the trailing end curvable piece. The imaging optics comprises an objective lens system and an eye piece lens system. The laser includes a solid-state gain media chip, such as Nd:YVO4, which also provides polarization control of the laser; and a periodically poled nonlinear crystal chip such as PPMgOLN or PPZnOLT for efficient frequency doubling of the fundamental infrared laser beam into the visible wavelength range. In other embodiments, a non-sacrificial filler material is used to form a barrier layer within a nanotube fabric layer. The collated IGMP report data is forwarded to an encoder coordinator. Each center conductor and shield conductor are electrically coupled to the signal paths and ground paths and mounted to the signal transition assembly to minimize relative axial displacement.