Endo Tools Therapeutics SA: Enabling Natural Orifice GI Procedures

Belgium-based Endo Tools Therapeutics SA aims to enable natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) for treating disorders such as type 2 diabetes, morbid obesity, and digestive tract tumors. Its Endomina is a universal triangulation platform for use with any existing endoscope through the natural orifices, such as the mouth and esophagus. The single-use, flexible device consists of two therapeutic hollow channels that attach to a standard endoscope after insertion in the patient’s stomach. It allows for multiple small tools such as a small-tissue grasper, an electric tissue cutter, or a needle for a suture to be introduced and removed during a procedure, with up to three tools used at the same time. At the end of the channels, Endomina also features two arms that are silicon-enclosed and controlled via joysticks to ensure independent control and position reset. The tip of the device replicates the movements from the joysticks to perform remote surgical actions. In addition, movements are transmitted using mechanical wires in Endomina to avoid any electricity flow in the patient. (See Also see "Obesity Intervention: A New Era Of Discovery And Innovation" - Medtech Insight, 7 December, 2012., Also see "Trends In MIS, Part I: Pushing Surgical Boundaries" - Medtech Insight, 25 May, 2012., Also see "Trends In MIS: Part II" - Medtech Insight, 6 July, 2012., and Also see "The Future of Laparoscopy: Single Incision, NOTES and Robots " - Medtech Insight, 1 July, 2010..)

“We can make very complex movements – suturing, lifting tissues – in the patient, without resorting to laparoscopy or open surgery,” says Alexandre Chau, PhD, Endo Tools’ CEO. Both plastic...