Surgical retractors for sternotomy and thoracotomy haven’t changed in about eighty years since the manually cranked devices came to market. As far as reliably opening up the thoracic cavity, they’ve done a great job over the decades, but in the meantime countless ribs have been broken and the same went for the intercostal nerves that lined those ribs. Physcient, a company based in Durham, North Carolina, has been developing a smart retractor that will help prevent injury to affected ribs and nerves through the use of sensors, motors, and a smart application of force. The company just presented their technology at TEDMED and we grabbed a chance to let them show it off to our audience:
