Literatura académica sobre el tema "Robotic flexible endoscopes"

318 Background: Effective traction and counter-traction for visualizing the dissection plane in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is difficult to be achieved with a conventional endoscope. We developed a robotic assistive traction device for flexible endoscopy that provides multi-directional traction during ESD. We compared its safety and efficiency in ESD between experienced and novice endoscopists. Methods: Robotic ESD was performed by experienced and novice endoscopist groups (n = 2, each). The outcomes included time to complete each ESD step, total procedure time, size of the dissected mucosa, rate of en bloc resection, and major adverse events. Furthermore, incision and dissection speeds were compared between groups. Results: Twenty gastric lesions were resected from nine live pigs. The submucosal incision speed was significantly faster in the expert group than in the novice group (P = 0.002). There was no significant difference in the submucosal dissection speed between the groups (P = 0.365). No complications were reported in either group. Conclusions: When the robot was assisting in the ESD procedure, the dissection speed improved significantly, especially in the novice surgeons. Our robotic device can provide simple, effective, and safe multidirectional traction during ESD.

Early-stage gastrointestinal cancer is often treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) using a flexible endoscope. Compared with conventional percutaneous surgery, ESD is much less invasive and provides a high quality of life for the patient because it does not require a skin incision, and the organ is preserved. However, the operator must be highly skilled because ESD requires using a flexible endoscope with energy devices, which have limited degrees of freedom. To facilitate easier manipulation of these flexible devices, we developed a surgical robot comprising a flexible endoscope and two articulating instruments. The robotic system is based on a conventional flexible endoscope, and an extrapolated motor unit moves the endoscope in all its degrees of freedom. The instruments are thin enough to allow insertion of two instruments into the endoscope channel, and each instrument has a bending section that allows for up–down, right–left, and forward–backward motion. In this study, we performed an ex vivo feasibility evaluation using the proposed robotic system for ESD in a porcine stomach. The procedure was successfully performed by five novice operators without complications. Our findings demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed robotic system and, furthermore, suggest that even operators with limited experience can use this system to perform ESD.

Flexible colonoscopy remains the prime mean of screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) and the gold standard of all population-based screening pathways around the world. Almost 60% of CRC deaths could be prevented with screening. However, colonoscopy attendance rates are affected by discomfort, fear of pain and embarrassment or loss of control during the procedure. Moreover, the emergence and global thread of new communicable diseases might seriously affect the functioning of contemporary centres performing gastrointestinal endoscopy. Innovative solutions are needed: artificial intelligence (AI) and physical robotics will drastically contribute for the future of the healthcare services. The translation of robotic technologies from traditional surgery to minimally invasive endoscopic interventions is an emerging field, mainly challenged by the tough requirements for miniaturization. Pioneering approaches for robotic colonoscopy have been reported in the nineties, with the appearance of inchworm-like devices. Since then, robotic colonoscopes with assistive functionalities have become commercially available. Research prototypes promise enhanced accessibility and flexibility for future therapeutic interventions, even via autonomous or robotic-assisted agents, such as robotic capsules. Furthermore, the pairing of such endoscopic systems with AI-enabled image analysis and recognition methods promises enhanced diagnostic yield. By assembling a multidisciplinary team of engineers and endoscopists, the paper aims to provide a contemporary and highly-pictorial critical review for robotic colonoscopes, hence providing clinicians and researchers with a glimpse of the major changes and challenges that lie ahead.

AbstractSince the introduction of transanal endoscopic microsurgery, local excision of “early” rectal lesions has offered the possibility to reduce the invasiveness of treatment for the limited disease. Flexible endoscopy techniques allow today different alternatives consisting of endoscopic mucosal resection or endoscopic submucosal dissection. The first is a straightforward and relatively easy technique, but it prevents a correct pathological staging of the lesion due to fragmentation and the verification of disease-free margins. The second relies on operators' audacity depending on their increasing experience due to the limited progress in technology. What is the preferable technique today is questionable. All the methods have pros and cons. The future certainly will see the use of ideal systems, allowing the possibility of precision surgery for partial- or full-thickness excision, depending on intraoperative findings, and the extension above the rectosigmoid junction. Miniaturized flexible robotic devices may represent the solution for both issues.