Article • Safe navigation
Enhanced precision with semi-automatic milling systems
Professor Dr Henning Windhagen is a great fan of semi-automatic systems that help with implants but leave the surgeon in the driver’s seat.
Surgery
News • Cancer therapy
Chemo after breast cancer surgery? Gene expression test to help decision
Physicists from Leipzig University have developed gene expression tests to examine whether additional chemotherapy is necessary and really effective after breast cancer surgery.
News • Pediatric patient
High-intensity focused ultrasound used for brain surgery
Children's National Hospital successfully performed the first-ever high-intensity focused ultrasound surgery on a pediatric patient with neurofibromatosis. This is the youngest patient to undergo HIFU treatment in the world.
News • International trials
Simulation training helps hone advanced surgical skills
A large-scale study has found that simulation-based surgical training produced an increase of surgeons’ skills for more complex surgeries.
News • Cutting-edge study
Stay sharp, surgeons — your patients depend on it
Researchers from Auckland have uncovered a link between the sharpness of surgical tools such as scalpels and the risk of post-surgery infection.
News • Sealing the deal
Surgical 'duct tape' could be an alternative to suture
Engineers at MIT have developed a kind of surgical duct tape — a strong, flexible, and biocompatible sticky patch that can be applied to biological tissues and organs to help seal tears and wounds.
News • Análisis de las opiniones
Reticencia a la cirugía robótica en europa
Un estudio de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) analiza los factores que influyen en la percepción de las personas sobre la utilización de la robótica en las intervenciones quirúrgicas médicas.
News • Autonomous procedure
Robot performs first laparoscopic surgery without human help
A robot has performed laparoscopic surgery on the soft tissue of a pig without the guiding hand of a human – a significant step toward fully automated surgery on humans.
News • Interventional neurology
Key criteria for the success of robotic surgery
A literature review fleshes out key issues currently preventing the proliferation of robotic procedures, specifically their use in image-guided interventional procedures in the brain.
Sponsored • Senhance robotic system by Asensus
Surgical robots are the future of medicine
Esslingen is one of the most innovative regions worldwide. Thus, it does not come as a surprise that Esslingen‘s 660-bed hospital is interested in adopting cutting-edge technology. A surgical robot, to be precise.
Article • Robotic surgery
OR without surgeon: science fiction or realistic scenario?
Dr Jan Stallkamp, Professor for Automation in Healthcare and Biotechnology, has a vision: robots that can treat patients more efficiently and more precisely than any human physician.
News • Xenotransplant
Surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient
US surgeons perform historic first successful transplant of porcine heart into adult auman with end-stage heart disease.
Article • Smart textiles
Haptic technology will change healthcare
At Medica 2021, Elitac Wearables exhibited its latest innovations in wearables, which feature haptic feedback and integrated sensors. We spoke with Merijn Klarenbeek, the company’s CEO, about the medical applications of wearable electronics and sensors.
Article • Visualization
Augmented Reality in the OR: matching man and machine
One of the crucial future technologies in surgery is Augmented Reality (AR). Most experts agree that AR will increase safety and efficiency, improve surgical training and decrease costs.
News • Osteoporosis
An ultra-thin 'computer on the bone'
Researchers have developed an ultra-thin wireless device, called osseosurface electronic, that grows to the surface of bone and could someday help physicians monitor bone health and healing over long periods.
News • mhealth
'Surgery selfies' could spot serious infections early
Smartphone pictures of post-surgical wounds taken by patients and then assessed by clinicians can help with the early identification of infections, a study has found.
News • Lights in the OR
New lighting solution improves illumination of surgical cavities
Vivo Surgical’s Klaro™ in vivo lighting device is designed to improve surgical illumination and provide a clearer view of surgical cavities. Developed in partnership with SingHealth – Singapore’s largest group of healthcare institutions – and Panasonic Lighting (Europe), this LED light solution solves many of the problems associated with traditional operating theatre lighting and…
Article • Augmented reality in the OR
AR helps surgeons to see, feel and understand
X-ray vision, context-sensitive guidance, coordinator, training assistant and more: augmented reality (AR) has hit the OR. While still in its infancy AR does grow rapidly and has already shown enormous potential. University Professor Dr Rüdiger von Eisenhart-Rothe, Chair of Orthopaedics and Sports Orthopaedics at the Technical University Munich, explains the advantages of different AR…
Article • Pre-, post- and interoperative
Wearable devices in the surgical environment
Wearable technology has become an important part of medicine, from tracking vital signs to disease diagnosis. In surgery, wearable technologies can now assist, augment, and provide a means of patient assessment before, during and after surgical procedures. Wearable technologies are applied before the patient even reaches the operating room, for example in prehabilitation, i.e. pre-treatment…
Sponsored • Smart textiles
Elitac Wearables – NeuroShirt
The NeuroShirt, developed from Elitac Wearables in collaboration with the University Medical Centre Utrecht (NL), is a patent-pending smart shirt that helps guide neurosurgeons during complicated skull-base surgeries. It connects to the neuronavigation system and continuously indicates both the distance and direction of critical structures through haptic feedback (vibrations). ‘This way,’ the…
Article • Medica 2021 product presentation
Medtech megatrends and more from Taiwan
Video streaming of surgeries, augmented reality displays and at-home assessment of sleep apnea: Medtech companies from Taiwan will showcase their newest products at Medica in Düsseldorf. Ahead of the trade fair, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) presented award-winning examples of the nation’s ingenuity.
Article • New tools for the OR
Promoting ‘robot readiness’ in surgery
Using surgical robotic systems in OR settings brings many benefits, but there are also challenges that must be overcome before implementing the systems into surgical routine. We spoke with Megan Rosengarten, president of Medtronic’s Surgical Robotics business, about the technology, as well as the company’s efforts to promote the spread of robot-assisted surgery across Europe.
Article • Extended realities in the OR
‘XR is fusing surgical reality with medical images’
Leading medical XR experts gathered at Shift Medical to discuss developments on the use of immersive technologies in medicine. We interviewed Doctor Egidijus Pelanis of Oslo University Hospital, about applying extended realities in the operating room.
Article • Neuro- and spine surgery
Perfection in the networked OR: robot, neuro-navigation and VR headsets
At their workplace, neurosurgeons often have to make compromises since most ORs were not designed with the specific needs of their discipline in mind. To address this issue the University Hospital in Essen, Germany, equipped an OR especially for neuro- and spine surgery. The aim is nothing less than revolutionizing the field with the help of digitalisation and cutting-edge technology.
News • Global guidelines
Urgent changes needed to stop surgical infection
Wound infections are the most common problem after surgery, but promised innovations to tackle the issue do not work and global guidance needs changing.