During the last decade and a half, robotic-assisted surgery has led to smaller scars, less pain, and faster recoveries for patients. Concurrently, surgeons using this technology have benefited from being able to perform surgeries in a more comfortable position, while also experiencing greater visualization and enhanced precision. With all of these (Read more...)
Tag: Urology
Esaote Unveils Its Flagship MyLab9 Ultrasound System
Esaote, the Italian ultrasound manufacturer, has just unveiled its brand new high-end MyLab9 ultrasound system. The device is designed for all sorts of diagnostic imaging procedures and clinical environments. The MyLab9 features non-composite single crystal probe technology and “Ultra-engine” platform that together generate high qu (Read more...)
TransEnterix Gets FDA Clearance for Senhance Surgical Robot
TransEnterix, a North Carolina firm, won FDA clearance for its Senhance Surgical Robotic System. This is only the second company that’s offering an abdominal surgical robotic system to receive FDA’s green light, following Intuitive Surgical‘s da Vinci systems, the first of which was introduced nearly two decades ago. The multi-por (Read more...)
Organoids of Human Kidneys Help to Study Renal Diseases
Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic condition in which the tubules of the kidneys grow to become deformed, leading to cysts to grow on the organ. Studying this disease has been a challenge because of the difficulty of modeling it in the laboratory. Now researchers led by a team at the University of Washington have […]
Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy Now Cleared in EU for Robotic-Assisted Surgeries
Mauna Kea, a French firm, having recently made available its Cellvizio system in the U.S., now also won European CE Mark approval for the technology to be used during robotic-assisted surgeries. The Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) System allows urologists to analyze the cellular structure of tissues as part of retroscopic and cys (Read more...)
FlexVR: A New, Portable, Robot-Assisted Surgical Simulation System – Interview with Dr. Jeff Berkley, CEO and Founder of Mimic Technologies
We are entering a new era in health care, where innovative technologies are frequently developed and introduced to health care workers. One of the most groundbreaking developments has been the use of robots to assist surgeons with complicated procedures. However, optimal training of physicians is crucial to ensure this technology is utilized in a s (Read more...)
Hitachi’s Compact Supria True64 CT Scanner Cleared in U.S.
Hitachi has announced that the FDA granted the company clearance for its Supria True64 CT scanner. The device is designed to take less room in a busy clinical environment and to provide a 64-slice image quality using a 40 mm detector and 64 separate detector and electronics processing channels. Hitachi notes that many compact CT scanners [&hel (Read more...)
LessRay Radiation Reduction System for ORs Using Fluoroscopes
NuVasive, a company based in San Diego, California, is now making available its LessRay radiation dose-reduction system. It consists of a computer cart that connects to an operating room’s fluoroscopy system. The fluoroscope can be set to a lower level of X-ray exposure, and the LessRay, using its proprietary software algorithms, then correct (Read more...)
Mauna Kea’s Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy Released Through Cook Medical
Cook Medical has announced that it’s making available the Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) System from Mauna Kea Technologies, a company based in Paris, France. Using the system, urologists can microscopically analyze the cellular structure of tissues during ureteroscopic and cystoscopic procedures without taking any samples (Read more...)
Surgical Pen Can Identify Cancer in Real-Time
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a hand-held surgical “pen” that can analyze tissue samples and tell a surgeon if they are cancerous in just a few seconds. During surgery to remove a tumor, surgeons need to know if they have removed the entire tumor margins, as leaving just a small […]
Ultravision Removes Smoke from Surgical Scene: Interview with Managing Director of Alesi Surgical
Smoke in a surgical field is a common problem, particularly during laparoscopic and robotic procedures, that arises from the use of electrosurgical instruments, lasers, and other devices. Typically, smoke is vented out through one of the instrument ports, too often with slow and imperfect results. Alesi Surgical, a company out of Cardiff, Wale (Read more...)
Magnamosis, a New Magnetic Way to Connect Intestines, Proving Itself in Clinical Trial
An intestinal anastomosis is a fairly common surgical procedure usually done during intestinal resections, bypasses, diversions, etc. Typically stapling or suturing is performed to connect proximal and distant parts the intestine, but a new method that uses magnets shows a clinical promise. A new study just published in Journal of the American (Read more...)
Ethicon Releases PROXISURE Advanced Laparoscopic Suturing Device
Ethicon, part of Johnson and Johnson, is releasing in the U.S. its new flagship laparoscopic suturing device, the PROXISURE. It features the use of curved needles that come inside of single-use cartridges which slip onto the tip of the main device. The tip itself moves in all kinds of ways, articulating 45° in both directions and [… (Read more...)
Hand-Held Probe Can Detect Cancer Cells in Real-Time During Surgery
Scientists in Montreal, Canada have perfected a hand-held Raman spectroscopy probe that surgeons can use to distinguish between cancer cells and normal tissue. Raman spectroscopy is a technique that involves shining light on a material and analyzing how it scatters. Scientists have used the method for years to analyze and characterize living t (Read more...)
Merit Medical’s Embosphere Microspheres for Minimally Invasive Treatment of Enlarged Prostate
Merit Medical has announced winning de novo clearance for its Embosphere Microspheres to be used for prostatic artery embolization procedures as a treatment option for symptomatic enlarged prostate. The de novo classification means that this is the first product that can be used to embolize the prostatic artery without resorting to surgery. The tin (Read more...)
Computer Vision Algorithm Studies Laparoscopic Procedures to Understand What’s Going On
Laparoscopic surgeries are often automatically recorded from the point of view of the endoscope’s lens. This is thanks to built-in recording equipment that accompanies many commercial endoscopic systems. What isn’t easy is reviewing all those hours of footage to find something that may be useful for training clinicians or that may be us (Read more...)
Intuitive’s New Budget Friendly da Vinci X Robotic Surgical System Cleared in U.S.
Intuitive Surgical is following up on the European clearance from a month ago for its da Vinci X robotic surgical system with a similar clearance from the FDA. The da Vinci X is a budget friendly cousin of existing offerings from Intuitive, yet offers many of the same capabilities and is upgradeable to include various others. All [&hellip (Read more...)
Intuitive Cleared in EU for Its New, More Budget Friendly da Vinci X Robotic Surgical System
Intuitive Surgical, makers of the famous da Vinci line of robotic-assisted surgical platforms, just announced receiving European regulatory approval to introduce its new da Vinci X surgical system. The system is designed for customers that can’t afford the hefty price tag of more expensive da Vinci robots while offering many of the same capab (Read more...)
Ethicon’s Brand New ENSEAL X1 Large Jaw Tissue Sealer Promises More Comfort, Less Bleeding
Ethicon, a part of Johnson & Johnson, today announced the release of its new ENSEAL X1 Large Jaw Tissue Sealer for working on vessels and soft tissues in open surgical procedures. This device is a competitor to Medtronic‘s LigaSure Impact, and Ethicon claims it leads to significantly reduced bleeding in thick tissues and le (Read more...)
FlexDex Minimally Invasive Surgical System Used in Real Operations (video)
FlexDex, a new minimally invasive surgical tool system that we’ve grown quite fond of, has now been used for the first time in a number of operations at Michigan Medicine. We tried the FlexDex ourselves during a visit to the company’s offices last year and, hoping not to exaggerate, we felt that the system really is […]
This (Read more...)