PROJECTS
This new device, manufactured in collaboration with the Foundation for Biomedical Research at the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid, is a graduated luminic rectoscope used as a support for surgeons whilst operating.
The Tekniker technology centre, member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), has developed a prototype for a new rectoscope in collaboration with the Foundation for Biomedical Research at the La Paz University Hospital which, thanks to its design, facilitates surgical procedures when dealing with cases associated with rectal cancer.
Medical devices of this kind usually incorporate frontal light beam to allow the surgeon to see inside the rectum. But this new prototype is also equipped with a radial light source that allows the surgeon to decide when he should make an incision if a rectal tumour must be excised.
For this type of cancer, surgery consists in removing the segment of the rectum where the tumour is located and connecting both ends to guarantee continuity. Upon doing so, a safety margin must be left between the tumour and the healthy tissue and it nowadays possible to reduce this space to only 1 cm. This poses a number of significant advantages for the patient, although the incision must be performed with absolute precision to avoid the risk of spreading the tumour and also to guarantee oncological safety.
The new luminic rectoscope, in whose development Tekniker has been involved, does meet this requirement as the device is equipped with a light that helps the surgeon decide how much length must be left for the distal section. This provides an indication of exactly where to cut between the tumour and the healthy tissue to leave a suitable safety margin.
As the rectum is a hollow, translucid organ, it allows the surgeon (who is already viewing the external layer) to see where the incision should be made inside the rectum that is also been monitored by his assistant via the rectoscope.
A transparent device
Tekniker, specialist in designing, developing and manufacturing precision equipment, has taken into account the medical requirements of this new rectoscope concept and has used them to design and manufacture a prototype according to biomedical and mechanical needs, transparency and watertightness that are essential to provide visibility and allow light through.
The centre has also developed the casing used for the rectoscope. Specifically, the part that is inserted inside the patient to slide a ruler together with the device equipped with a light beam.
Tekniker has applied its extensive specialisation in terms of product engineering, advanced manufacturing and the development of equipment for the health care sector to design and develop a functional prototype for a rectoscope that is currently being tested preclinically on animals and will represent a major step forward with regard to operations performed to excise rectal tumours.
