Endoscopic surgery, while notable for reducing side effects compared to using scalpels and surgical retractors, requires a great deal of dexterity and device management to prevent unwanted damage to tissues. One reason is that monopolar electrical instruments that are used to ablate soft tissue will often release much of their energy not at the tip, but somewhere along the shaft.

Encision, a Boulder, Colorado firm, just received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to bring to market its AEM EndoShield device that plugs between many common electrosurgical generators and the company’s AEM laparoscopic instruments to monitor and prevent stray energy being released unintentionally.

This device is a disposable, and may be used when a surgeon chooses to use higher power settings for specific operations. There’s not much of an interface on the EndoShield to deal with, and so not much training needed to get acquainted with it. Encision claims that up to 400 preventable deaths are caused by stray monopolar energy, a considerable number that we hope this technology can bring closer to zero.

Source:Encision