Innovative Operating Platform Supports Incisionless Surgery

An incisionless operating platform (IOP) includes tools that allow physicians to operate without performing external incisions.

The USGI IOP is intended for incisionless surgery procedures, which encompass Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) and endolumenal and single-port techniques. The platform can also used in bariatric surgery, cholecystectomy, appendectomy, gastrointestinal cancer, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), and urological and gynecological procedures.

The system combines the flexibility of endoscopy with the therapeutic benefit of laparoscopy, offering a stable operating platform, an access port for multiple, robust, flexible surgical tools, and durable tissue anchors to approximate and permanently affix tissue. The elements of the system include the Transport Multi-lumen Access Platform, the g-Lix Helical endoscopic tissue grasper, the g-Prox grasping/tissue approximation device, and the g-Cath tissue-anchor delivery catheters with expandable tissue anchors. The USGI IOP is a product of USGI Medical (San Clemente, CA, USA), and has received both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Community (CE) Marking.

"I've been using USGI's Expandable Tissue Anchoring system for over three years, both in the lab and clinically. It is a superb technology and by far the most durable available for endoscopic tissue approximation,” said Lee Swanstrom, M.D., a professor of surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU, Portland, OR, USA). "In my view, this is an essential tool for advanced endoscopists interested in the future of minimally invasive surgery, answering many of the remaining questions about secure endolumenal wound closure and permanent tissue remodeling.”

"Gaining CE Mark approval is a significant step forward in our commercialization of the IOP,” said Eugene Chen, president and CEO of USGI Medical. "We look forward to building long term relationships with European physicians, much like those we have developed with leading surgeons, surgical endoscopists, and gastroenterologists in the U.S. We plan to leverage the versatility of the IOP and the durability of the IOP Expandable Tissue Anchors in various incisionless procedures, with an initial focus on bariatrics in Europe.”

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Oregon Health Sciences University