FlexDex intuitive laparoscopic accompaniments to begin sale in the US

Introduction of FlexDex intuitive technology has revolutionized the way minimal invasive surgeries are performed by lending the ease of movements and intuitive control than traditional laparoscopic instruments.

Using the ‘virtual center,’ the platform precisely translates the movement of surgeon’s wrist, hand, and arm outside the patient’s body into the corresponding movements of the instrument tip inside the patient body. Unlike any other instrument, it allows the surgeons to move the wrist in the direction of intended movement thereby greatly simplifying the execution of the surgical procedure.

Until now, FlexDex only provided the technology to a few hospitals as part of clinical trials. Now, FlexDex has entered into exclusive distribution agreement with Olympus, a global technology leader in designing and delivering innovative solutions for medical and surgical procedures to distribute FlexDex’s Needle Driver instrument in the United States.

The agreement combines Olympus’ innovative 3D laparoscopic imaging technology and FlexDex’s wristed needle-driver to offer a low-cost, robust alternative for complicated high-cost robotic set-up.

Randy Clark, Group Vice President of the Surgical Division at Olympus said in a news release, “Combining Olympus’ expertise in minimally invasive surgery and 3D technology with FlexDex’s unique technology for handling surgical instruments -- without the complexity and cost of a computer-aided robotic system -- will be a game changer for physicians and patients. We are thrilled to add FlexDex to the Olympus portfolio, furthering our progress of improving patient satisfaction, decreasing costs and improving the quality of life for patients.”

“Hospitals are constantly under pressure to reduce cost and improve patient outcomes. Using a multi-million-dollar robotic system for procedures that have low margins, often associated with fixed reimbursement, can potentially further burden providers financially. FlexDex and Olympus are uniquely positioned to offer surgeons the precision and control they desire while maintaining the balance of cost, outcome and patient benefit,” added Dr. James Geiger, CEO at FlexDex.

Flashback: FlexDex, a revolutionary laparoscopic technology that moves like surgeon’s hand

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Innovative force sensing technology enables the surgeons to feel again from a distance

SensOR Medical Laboratories, a medical device start-up based out of Toronto, Canada has developed a novel force-sensing electronic skin called ForceFilm, that when paired with the existing laparoscopic tools enables the surgeons to get the ‘tactile sensation’ so easily felt during open surgeries.

Handling the tissues from a distance makes it difficult to get the idea of the amount of force applied, and increases the rate of surgical complications.

Minimal Invasive surgeries are on the rise in all specialties of surgery in hope of early recovery, shorter hospital stay and minimal pain and discomfort associated with the surgery. Transparency Market Research (TMR) recent study has projected a growth of 10.5% in the global minimally invasive surgery market by 2019.

CEO and co-founder Dr. Robert Brooks say “Our ultimate goal is to improve surgical safety. Medical error is the third largest cause of death. Up to 12% of medical error is caused by the inappropriate application of force in surgery.”

The ForceFilm can be fitted and removed from any existing laparoscopic instrument without damaging its working. The ForceFilm measures the force exerted at the tip of the instrument by using 2 to 4 strain gauges and transmit it wirelessly through Bluetooth transceiver to be displayed on the endoscopic monitor. The display gives the surgeon a visual feedback about the amount of pressure exerted while cutting or handling the tissues; thereby, reducing the surgical complications.

ForceFilm is also very useful in effectively training surgical residents about the level of ‘safe force’ during simulated surgeries, so that the complication rate is reduced during live surgeries.

“Our technology is unique in that it is the only force-sensing technology that can be added to any make or model of the surgical instrument and doesn’t modify surgical or hospital workflow,” added Dr. Brooks.

In addition, the unique design of ForceFilm makes it fully sterilizable with no need to disassemble the instrument.

The company has future plans to expand SensOR to identify specific site and type of surgeries. This will enable the surgeons to get an idea about the force applied in the past, along with the ‘safe force’ limit while operating in real time.

They are also planning to get SensOR into surgical education to shorten the learning curve and designing it so that it can be applied on every force-applying instrument in the surgical tray.

SensOR was recently awarded the James Dyson Foundation Award for Canada for its unique ForceFilm technology.

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Media Courtesy: SensOR

Here is a video demonstrating SensOR’s award-winning (James Dyson Award for Canada) ForceFilm technology