Development of Novel Electrospun Absorbable Polycaprolactone (PCL) Scaffolds for Hernia Repair Applications
INTRODUCTION: Permanent hernia repair materials rely on pro-fibrotic wound healing. As a result, repair sites are commonly composed of disorganized fibrotic tissue, resulting in greater risk of re-herniation. Electrospun scaffolds are a novel class of biomaterials which may provide a unique platform for the design of increasingly advanced soft tissue repair materials. These scaffolds are… Continue Reading
A New Robotic System for Single-incision Laparoscopic Surgery: Preliminary Experience
Introduction: The concept of single access procedures has gained a greater attention of general surgeons over the last four years. Despite such a wide momentum, these procedures pose several changes for the operating surgeon, such as impaired eye-hand coordination and restricted manipulation. In this context, robotic-assisted surgery represents a growing discipline designed to enhance the… Continue Reading
Laser Guided Instrument Positioning
Introduction: A restricted visual field is a shortcoming of laparoscopic surgery. This limitation often leads to blind instrument insertion and can result in occult intra-abdominal injury. A navigation system which supports safe instrument use even outside of the camera’s view would be ideal. This study describes the use of a novel trocar system which employs a… Continue Reading
Console Integrated Stereoscopic Osirix 3d Volume Rendered Images for Da Vinci™ Robotic Surgery
Background The increasing distance between the surgeon and the surgical field is a significant problem in laparoscopic surgery. Robotic surgery, while providing clear advantages for the operator, increases this gap by completely removing force feedback. With the introduction of mixed reality in the robotic era, integrating novel visual enhancement tools with the da Vinci™(Intuitive Surgical… Continue Reading
Laparoscopic Vision Port
ObjectiveImprove the efficiency and accuracy of maintaining visual exposure of the operative field during laparoscopic surgery and mimic the multiple simultaneous views of standard open surgical approaches. This accomplishes the added benefit to allow for fewer ports and assistants. This system will provide multiple, simultaneous views that are in full control of the surgeon and… Continue Reading
Minimally Invasive Surgery Using Intra-operative Real-time Capsule Endoscopy for Small Bowel Lesions
The small bowel has been considered as the “black box” in gastroenterology and a small bowel bleeding point is difficult to detect. It is stressful for surgeons to perform an operation for a bleeding lesion, the exact site of which is unknown. We report the successful management of small bowel bleeding lesion by intra-operative real-time… Continue Reading
The Mechanical Properties of Adhesive Polymer Films in Ex-vivo Study for Bowel Retraction in Laparoscopic Surgery
Objective To develop an adhesive polymer film able to adhere strongly on serosal side of the bowel with sufficient mechanical properties to retract the bowel for laparoscopic procedures. Method A series of novel adhesive mono- and bi-layer polymer films were formulated in house, in which the adhesive layer was based on either Carbopol… Continue Reading
Transabdominal Endoscopic Pericardial Access for Epicardial Ablation
Epicardial cardiac ablation (MAZE procedure) and endocardial (percutaneous catheter based) ablation are well described techniques in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. A novel procedure recently developed is the hybrid mini-maze (convergent MAZE procedure) that involves a concurrent transabdominal endoscopic epicardial MAZE and endocardial catheter based ablation. The MAZE procedure has classically involved either a sternotomy… Continue Reading
An Externally-Steerable Magnetic Levitation Surgical Camera for Multiple-Point-of-View Laparoscopy
1. Objective of the technology or deviceThe intended purpose of our device, the Magnetic Internal Mechanism (MIM) camera, is to overcome the ergonomic constraints of laparoscopic surgery and in particular of single port laparoscopy (SPL) by providing a new wired miniature surgical camera with a novel magnetic levitation system. By this innovative approach the number… Continue Reading
Accurate High-intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation in a Porcine Liver Model Through Integration of Real-Time Image Guidance, Robotic Navigation, and Elastographic Monitoring
Objective Active research into accurate, minimally-invasive, image-guided destruction of focal hepatic malignancies will expand the population of treatable patients and potentially extend survival. Our objective is to develop an accurate, real-time monitored minimally-invasive ablation system through the integration of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation within a flexible needle configuration, robotic steerable active cannula guidance, and… Continue Reading
Clinical Experience With a Hands-free Internal Liver Retractor in Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery
<Objective>Endolift (Virtual ports, Richmond, VA) is a new liver retracting device. It is characterized by an internal and hands-free retractor, which does not require an additional port and anchoring to any external device that limits the patient’s position and adds clutter to the operating table. It also enables us to get comparable or better exposure… Continue Reading
Novel Method for Comprehensively Assessing the Biomechanical Risks Associated With the Use of Minimally-invasive Surgical Instruments
OBJECTIVE OF THE TECHNOLOGYAs the incidence of neuromuscular disorders among laparoscopic surgeons increases, research to understand the biomechanical risks associated with the use of minimally-invasive surgical instruments has been underdeveloped. A method using detailed simultaneous biomechanical measurements was developed in order to analyze the quantities that are closely related to potential risks and to yield… Continue Reading
Flexdex™: A Minimally Invasive Surgical Tool With Enhanced Dexterity and Intuitive Control
Objective The goal of this project is to develop a low-cost minimally invasive surgery (MIS) device that provides wrist-like dexterity and intuitive control, which are necessary for complex MIS tasks such as suturing, knot-tying, and fine dissection. Such functionality is currently available only in multi-million dollar surgical robots. The proposed technology will broaden the adoption… Continue Reading
Development of an Intracavitary Perfusion Device for Laparoscopic Hepatectomy With Water-filled Endoscopic Surgery (wafles)
Objective of the deviceIn recent years, the number of hospitals that perform laparoscopic-assisted hepatectomy as a less-invasive approach is increasing with development and improvement in medical devices and the advancement of surgical techniques. However, because the liver has a very rich blood supply, it is important to intraoperatively determine the hepatic vascular distribution for safe… Continue Reading
Initial Experience With a Modified Mini Laparoscopic Technique for Cholecystectomy
Introduction: The use of smaller instruments in laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been well described in a number of trials, but the range of patients in which this minimalist technique can be used in is narrow. Here, we report on the use of a modified mini laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a range of patients with variable BMI’s. … Continue Reading