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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
<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 […]
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 […]