Endocontrol Hoping for Year of Development
Japanese Marketing Approval Sought for ViKY, as
Device is Used for the First Time in Taiwan
by John Otrompke
Endocontrol, a company based in Grenoble, France, is hoping for a year of successful developments, as the company recently submitted an application for marketing approval in Japan for its leading device, ViKY.
Elsewhere, a Taiwanese surgeon performed the first procedure with the device in Taiwan, and the company is hoping to release the world’s first five millimeter motorized needle driver in 2011.
Endocontrol submitted the application to market the Vision Kontrol Endoscopy device (ViKY) in Japan in February of this year, according to Stephen Song, MBA, vice president for sales and marketing.
Over 1,000 procedures have been performed with the ViKY since it came on the market in 2008. The ViKY is approved in Canada, the European Union, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, and the U.S., Song added.
Useful in Gynecologic Procedures
In April of this year, the ViKY was used for the first time in Taiwan by Dr. Yih-Huei Uen, who used a wireless microphone to control the movement and position of the laparoscope during a single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or gall bladder removal, at Chi-Mei Medical Center in Tainan.
The ViKY is especially useful in gynecologic procedures, such as hysterectomy and gynecologic reconstruction, according to Song, performed either with or without the da Vinci. Those procedures are performed with uterine manipulator, which is an instrument inside the uterus, used as a handle to move the uterus around, or as a vaginal dilator, he said.
“The da Vinci cannot do it, because the architecture of the arms will not allow an arm to get into that position,” said Song, adding that the ViKY can be controlled either by voice, or by a foot pedal on the floor.
The ViKY can also be used for single port surgeries, in which it controls the laparoscopic telescope that goes through the access device, and in transrectal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgeries (NOTES), Song said.
Smaller Motorized Devices May Lead to Better Outcomes
In addition, the company anticipates releasing the world’s first five millimeter motorized instrument, a needle driver, during 2011, Song added.
The device, the JAiMY (Jaime Articulating Instrument Motorized endoscopY), which is named after the primary engineer on the project, is also reusable, according to Song.
Most instruments are currently ten millimeters in size. “But the smaller the diameter of the device, the smaller the incision that must be made to accommodate it into the body. Smaller incisions mean less pain, scarring, disfigurement and less chance of developing an abdominal wall hernia,” which currently occur with an incidence between 1 to 6% in ports that are larger than 10 millimeters, according to the literature, according to Song, who noted that the JAiMY is designed for use in any laparoscopic procedure, with or without the ViKy.
Endocontrol, a company based in Grenoble, France, is hoping for a year of successful developments, as the company recently submitted an application for marketing approval in Japan for its leading device, ViKY.
Elsewhere, a Taiwanese surgeon performed the first procedure with the device in Taiwan, and the company is hoping to release the world’s first five millimeter motorized needle driver in 2011.
Endocontrol submitted the application to market the Vision Kontrol Endoscopy device (ViKY) in Japan in February of this year, according to Stephen Song, MBA, vice president for sales and marketing.
Over 1,000 procedures have been performed with the ViKY since it came on the market in 2008. The ViKY is approved in Canada, the European Union, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, and the U.S., Song added.
Useful in Gynecologic Procedures
In April of this year, the ViKY was used for the first time in Taiwan by Dr. Yih-Huei Uen, who used a wireless microphone to control the movement and position of the laparoscope during a single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or gall bladder removal, at Chi-Mei Medical Center in Tainan.
The ViKY is especially useful in gynecologic procedures, such as hysterectomy and gynecologic reconstruction, according to Song, performed either with or without the da Vinci. Those procedures are performed with uterine manipulator, which is an instrument inside the uterus, used as a handle to move the uterus around, or as a vaginal dilator, he said.
“The da Vinci cannot do it, because the architecture of the arms will not allow an arm to get into that position,” said Song, adding that the ViKY can be controlled either by voice, or by a foot pedal on the floor.
The ViKY can also be used for single port surgeries, in which it controls the laparoscopic telescope that goes through the access device, and in transrectal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgeries (NOTES), Song said.
Smaller Motorized Devices May Lead to Better Outcomes
In addition, the company anticipates releasing the world’s first five millimeter motorized instrument, a needle driver, during 2011, Song added.
The device, the JAiMY (Jaime Articulating Instrument Motorized endoscopY), which is named after the primary engineer on the project, is also reusable, according to Song.
Most instruments are currently ten millimeters in size. “But the smaller the diameter of the device, the smaller the incision that must be made to accommodate it into the body. Smaller incisions mean less pain, scarring, disfigurement and less chance of developing an abdominal wall hernia,” which currently occur with an incidence between 1 to 6% in ports that are larger than 10 millimeters, according to the literature, according to Song, who noted that the JAiMY is designed for use in any laparoscopic procedure, with or without the ViKy.
posted by John J. Otrompke | 12:32 PM
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