Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc., an Ohio-based, venture-backed medical device company that specializes in optimizing the surgeon’s vision during laparoscopic surgery, today announced the commercial release of Robotic FloShieldT, designed specifically to be compatible with the da Vinci Surgical System for robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery.
“Hospitals invest millions of dollars in da Vinci robotic systems, but the accumulation of condensation, debris and smoke while the laparoscope is in use forces surgeons to disrupt their work to clean the camera,” noted Wayne Poll, M.D., founder and CEO of Minimally Invasive Devices and a robotic surgeon. “For such high technology systems to be fettered by such basic problems is unacceptable, which is why we developed the Robotic FloShield system.” FloShield technology uses Vortex Barrier Technology (VBT), which forms an invisible curtain of gas in front of a laparoscope’s optics that acts as a barrier to debris, condensation and smoke, preventing the accumulation of vision-disrupting particulates. FloShield VBT is the first system that pushes smoke and debris away from the laparoscope lens surface before it can settle on the optics and disrupt a surgeon’s view.
Traditional FloShield has been effectively used in over 12,000 non-robotic laparoscopic surgeries. With the availability of Robotic FloShield, surgeons and nurses that operate with the da Vinci Surgical System can enjoy the benefits of continuous clear vision. In a recently concluded pilot launch on the da Vinci System, Robotic FloShield was used in 30 consecutive surgeries, either gastric sleeves or hysterectomies, using the da Vinci System. In each of the operations, surgeons were able to complete the procedure without removing the laparoscope due to contaminant buildup on the lens, even during the use of techniques that typically obliterate the surgeon’s view, necessitating the removal of the laparoscope for cleaning prior to completing the procedure.
“The perfect medical endoscope would proactively prevent optics from becoming covered with debris before vision is lost. FloShield ushers in a new standard of medical vision, which can be applied across multiple platforms. Surgeons will some day look back with disbelief that they used to accept frequent loss of a clear surgical view,” said Dr. Poll.
In addition to the VBT, Robotic FloShield also includes Flo-X in situ, a surfactant flush that allows the surgical team to flush and clean the lens inside the patient, rather like the windshield cleaning system of a car, should the scope touch tissue or if blood, smoke or particulate penetrate the VBT.
