Encapsulation process sterilizes and preserves surgical instruments

Ethylene oxide is blended with an organic polymer to form a sterile material for encapsulating surgical instruments. The material does not bond to metal and can be easily removed when the instruments are needed

Concurrent Segmentation and Localization for Tracking of Surgical Instruments

Real-time instrument tracking is a crucial requirement for various computer-assisted interventions. In order to overcome problems such as specular reflections and motion blur, we propose a novel method that takes advantage of the interdependency between localization and segmentation of the surgical tool. In particular, we reformulate the 2D instrument pose estimation as heatmap regression and thereby enable a concurrent, robust and near real-time regression of both tasks via deep learning. As demonstrated by our experimental results, this modeling leads to a significantly improved performance than directly regressing the tool position and allows our method to outperform the state of the art on a Retinal Microsurgery benchmark and the MICCAI EndoVis Challenge 2015.Comment: I. Laina and N. Rieke contributed equally to this work. Accepted to MICCAI 201

Load sensing surgical instruments

Force and pressure sensing technology applied to smart surgical instruments as well as implants allow to give a direct feedback of loads to the surgeon lead to better reliability and success of surgical operations. A common technology used for sensors is low-cost piezoresistive thick-film technology. However, the standard thick-film firing conditions degrade the properties of medical alloys. In order to avoid this problem, the solution is to decrease the firing temperature of thick films. This work presents the development and characterisation of low-firing thick-film systems (dielectrics, resistors and conductors), formulated to achieve chemical and thermal expansion compatibility with an austenitic stainless steel medical alloy. Adherence tests and results on electrical properties of these systems: resistance, temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) are presented. It was found that the main issue in these systems lies in mastering the materials interactions during firing, especially at the silver-based resistor terminations. The interaction of silver, resistor and dielectric tends to give rise to highly resistive zones at the terminations, affecting reliability. This can be circumvented by post-firing the resistor terminations at a moderate temperatur

Cleaning of surgical instruments

Cleaning of surgical instrument

Multimodal Noncontact Tracking of Surgical Instruments

For many procedures, open surgery is being replaced with minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques. The advantages of MIS include reduced operative trauma and fewer complications leading to faster patient recovery, better cosmetic results and shorter hospital stays. As the demand for MIS procedures increases, effective surgical training tools must be developed to improve procedure efficiency and patient safety. Motion tracking of laparoscopic instruments can provide objective skills assessment for novices and experienced users. The most common approaches to noncontact motion capture are optical and electromagnetic (EM) tracking systems, though each approach has operational limitations. Optical trackers are prone to occlusion and the performance of EM trackers degrades in the presence of magnetic and ferromagnetic material. The cost of these systems also limits their availability for surgical training and clinical environments. This thesis describes the development and validation of a novel, noncontact laparoscopic tracking system as an inexpensive alternative to current technology. This system is based on the fusion of inertial, magnetic and distance sensing to generate real-time, 6-DOF pose data. Orientation is estimated using a Kalman-filtered attitude-heading reference system (AHRS) and restricted motion at the trocar provides a datum from which position information can be recovered. The Inertial and Range-Enhanced Surgical (IRES) Tracker was prototyped, then validated using a MIS training box and by comparison to an EM tracking system. Results of IRES tracker testing showed similar performance to an EM tracker with position error as low as 1.25 mm RMS and orientation error \u3c0.58 degrees RMS along each axis. The IRES tracker also displayed greater precision and superior magnetic interference rejection capabilities. At a fraction of the cost of current laparoscopic tracking methods, the IRES tracking system would provide an excellent alternative for use in surgical training and skills assessment

Surgical instruments

Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, The 6th International Medical Congress for Students and Young Doctors, May 12-14, 2016Introduction. Surgical instruments – are weapons that lie in surgeon’s hand and are intended to produce some influence on patient’s tissue in order to eradicate the disease and also to restore the function of the body. The vast number of surgical instruments have the same construction, function and technique production as modern instruments and are known from the 16th – 18th centuries. There were a lot of outstanding events in the 20th century, one of them was the apearence of endoscopic and miniinvazive surgery. The technologies of endoscopic and miniinvazive surgery influienced the next step in the development of new techniques, that allow to perform radical interventions through the minimal traumas for the patient or without large cuts of skin and tissues. Purpose. Definition, description and enumeration of surgical instruments according to the applied fields of modern surgery

Magnetic Surgical Instruments for Robotic Abdominal Surgery.

This review looks at the implementation of magnetic-based approaches in surgical instruments for abdominal surgeries. As abdominal surgical techniques advance toward minimizing surgical trauma, surgical instruments are enhanced to support such an objective through the exploration of magnetic-based systems. With this design approach, surgical devices are given the capabilities to be fully inserted intraabdominally to achieve access to all abdominal quadrants, without the conventional rigid link connection with the external unit. The variety of intraabdominal surgical devices are anchored, guided, and actuated by external units, with power and torque transmitted across the abdominal wall through magnetic linkage. This addresses many constraints encountered by conventional laparoscopic tools, such as loss of triangulation, fulcrum effect, and loss/lack of dexterity for surgical tasks. Design requirements of clinical considerations to aid the successful development of magnetic surgical instruments, are also discussed

A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS (YANTRAS & SHASTRAS) USED IN STREE ROGA & PRASUTI TANTRA IN AYURVEDA vis-à-vis MODERN OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY

Wide description is available in Ayurvedic classics regarding various surgical instruments (Yantra, Shastra) used in different branches of Ayurveda for carrying out clinical examination; medical and operative procedures. Hasta (Hand) is considered as the Pradhantamam yantra because surgical instruments are in many ways simply extension of human hand. Surgical instruments such as forceps, dilators, speculums, needles, lancets etc are similar to the 101Yantras and 20 Shastras mentioned in Ayurveda e.g., Samdansha Yantra, Naadi Yantra, Shalaka Yantra, Mandalagra Shastra, Vetasapatra Shastra, Suchi, Shararimukha Shastra etc. To perform various procedures in Stree Roga and Prasuti Tantra , use of blunt and sharp instruments are described in detail. Most of the modern surgical instruments are only slight modifications of the instruments used by ancient Hindu surgeons. In this article we have discussed about those Yantras (Blunt instruments) and Shastras (Sharp instruments) which are mentioned in Stree Roga and Prasuti Tantra and their counterparts in modern Obstetrics and Gynecology

Tribology of Medical Devices

Importance of tribology in a number of medical devices and surgical instruments is reviewed, including artificial joints, artificial teeth, dental implants and orthodontic appliances, cardiovascular devices, contact lenses, artificial limbs and surgical instruments. The current focus and future developments of these medical devices are highlighted from a tribological point of view, together with the underlying mechanisms