 His work was based on that of earlier inventors like Philipp Bozzini, some of whom had previously used endoscopes for diagnostic purposes, however, Desormeaux's invention was the first to be usable for simple operations such as chemical cauterization.The main improvements in his device were the use of a gasogene lamp, which consisted of a burning mixture of alcohol and turpentine and provided superior illumination to previous technologies, and improvements in focusing the light coming from the endoscope.Further improvements to the endoscope were later made by Sir Francis Cruise.