MaSoChain (surgical instrument)

2023: Product Announcement

On April 12, 2023, specialists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) announced the development of a new technology for minimally invasive surgery. The researchers proposed an advanced method to introduce comparatively large instruments into the patient's body through a narrow catheter.

The essence of the approach boils down to the fact that a surgical instrument of a complex shape is disassembled into parts, which are then introduced into the body sequentially - like a string of pearls. At the end of the catheter, these elements are assembled into a predetermined configuration due to the built-in magnets. Thus, sufficiently bulky objects can be introduced through a small hole, which minimizes the risk of tissue damage and can speed up the rehabilitation of patients after surgery.

MaSoChain

The solution was called MaSoChain - a soft magnetic soft robotic chain (Magnetic Soft-robotic Chain). Structurally, surgical instruments of a new type combine elastic segments and rigid polymer components into which miniature magnets are integrated. Parts can be 3D printed. When the tool is pushed out of the catheter, the magnets are successively attracted to each other, causing the segments to take the desired shape. Upon completion of the surgical procedure, when drawn through the catheter, the instrument components return to their initial configuration of a narrow pearl thread. The article can then be sterilized and reused.

The technology, among other things, can be used to introduce an endoscopic chamber into the patient's body or create a system for capturing and moving objects inside the body. The proposed approach, compared to alternative methods, is said to provide improved mobility. The solution is suitable for minimally invasive surgery of organs such as the intestines or stomach.^[1]

Notes