It requires operating theatres to have a reliable CO2 gas supply. "We partnered with clinicians in India to work on developing instruments that would make the process simpler, with the aim of enabling laparoscopic surgery to be available in more locations around the world."ĭuring laparoscopic operations, the surgeon inflates the patient's abdomen with CO2 gas, to create space to see internal organs and to manipulate instruments. "But in many parts of the world, laparoscopic techniques are not widely used because of the need to use equipment that cannot be easily maintained or relies on complex infrastructure in the operating theatre. People recover more quickly, and the risks of cross infection are lower. The result is that laparoscopic surgery can now be carried out in clinics and hospitals where it was not possible before.ĭr Pete Culmer, Associate Professor in Healthcare Technologies at Leeds, who supervised the research, said: "Laparoscopic surgery has benefits for patients. To demonstrate their approach, the researchers describe how they designed a simplified surgical tool for performing laparoscopic - or keyhole surgery - in low resource settings. ![]() They have pioneered a development approach based on "participatory design," where the users of the technology are closely involved in its design - and where functionality of the device is pared back to key essentials. Without access to medical equipment they can use, hospitals and clinics in low-to-middle income countries cannot offer surgical treatment to nine out of ten patients.Īn international research team led by the University of Leeds is calling for a focus on creating medical devices specifically for use in low-to-middle income countries. Writing in the IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, they argue that surgical technology is often developed for well-resourced healthcare systems - and is of little or no use in poorer settings where hospitals lack sophisticated support infrastructure or appropriately trained staff.
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