Novel device for the in-situ cleaning of 5mm diameter and eccentric design laparoscopes

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Laparoscopy is abdominal “keyhole” surgery widely used in General Surgery, Urology, Colorectal (including Obesity) Surgery and Gynaecology. It requires excellent vision of the surgical field as projected on an external screen. However, laparoscope lens are regularly contaminated by fluids, blood, tissue, fat or fogging which impairs this view. Until recently the only way of cleaning the scope was to remove it from the patient during a procedure. This results in the surgeon’s work flow and concentration being broken, the operation stopped/restarted, adding a risk to patient safety at often critical moments (for example when patient is bleeding). A 2013 Kings College Hospital study showed that the scope is removed on average 13 times per procedure and even then a surgeon will work 37% of the time with sub-optimal vision. The applicant has launched the OpClear (DI2) system which is a disposable sheath that clips on to one standard type of laparoscope, namely the 10 mm diameter (0 or 30 degree angle) scopes. The OpClear delivers fluids through a sheath and across the lens surface to clear the lens whilst the scope remains within the patient. The applicant now faces a major commercial and technical challenge; redevelopment of the platform technology such that OpClear can be applied to 5 mm diameter scopes, 45 degree scopes, long scopes and the many scopes of a more eccentric design representing 50% of the market. The enclosed project presents a radical departure from the rigid sheath approach and the development of a novel and more flexible OpClear (DI3) architecture.