Intelligent Operating Room Instrumentation Facilitates Surgery

An intelligent power unit supports a variety of minimally invasive procedures by offering surgeons a broad range of cutting and stapling configurations combined with increased flexibility, access, and precision.

The Intelligent surgical instrument platform is comprised of the iDrive Intelligent power unit, detachable Intelligent surgical instruments, and the iConsole Intelligent control unit. The iDrive is a novel hand-held, computer-controlled power unit that allows all the system instruments to be to be driven by a single power unit. As a result, hospitals will be able to use a technology platform that is reusable, easy to use, cost effective, and less wasteful, potentially leading to savings for both hospitals and health networks. Instruments that can be attached to the iDrive include power linear cutters, right angle linear cutters (RALCs), and circular staplers. The iConsole is a proprietary wireless device that communicates directly with the iDrive during surgical procedures to output specific auditory and visual reference information via its speaker and liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. Outputs provide surgeons with important information regarding calibration, firing, and instrument and reload type, allowing surgeons to make real-time, critical decisions that may ultimately lead to an improved patient outcome.

The iDrive and iConsole combination represent a dynamic technology solution which is designed to enable the incorporation of important functional enhancements, ultimately leading to a wireless computer mediated platform with capabilities such as wireless video processing, internet access, a patient record interface, and controlled tissue compression software. The platform has applications for open surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and the emerging field of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). The Intelligent Surgical Instrument platform is a product of Power Medical Interventions (PMI, Langhorne, PA, USA), and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"These instruments will deliver critical advantages to surgeons offering single handed use, flexibility, and access to remote anatomical sites,” said Michael Whitman, president and CEO of PMI. "At the same time, these new instruments are designed to reduce healthcare costs and improve hospitals' operational efficiency. Furthermore, the reusable and autoclavable nature of these instruments plays a key role in helping to reduce medical waste, offering additional meaningful benefits to our hospital customers.”

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Power Medical Interventions