While laparoscopic surgery has revolutionized a whole slew of otherwise open procedures, the instruments that are currently used are still long and rigid. This has been a limitation that has made it impossible to perform certain operations in a minimally invasive fashion. To overcome this, a team from the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska Lincoln and Center for Advanced Surgical Technology (CAST) at University of Nebraska Medical Center has developed a tiny multi-instrument robotic surgical tool that can be delivered to a challenging surgical site using a flexible snake.
The electro-hydraulic manipulator, reported on in the Journal of Medical Devices, has four instruments within its body, each of which can be pulled out and used independently. In practice, multiple of these manipulators can be attached to the end of a flexible snake that would deliver the instruments into the body through a natural orifice or an incision. Here’s a video showing off the impressive capabilities of the technology:
Article in Journal of Medical Devices: Electro-Hydraulic Robotic Manipulator with Multiple Instruments for Minimally Invasive Surgery…