martin@surgicalsynergy.com

About the Medusascope

The next breakthrough in spinal and keyhole surgery Surgical Synergy Icon Graphic

The Medusascope was conceived and designed by Dr Martin Knight, a pioneering Endoscopic spine surgeon who has already developed an endoscope for the niche spine market, which listed on AIM.

The lightweight disposable Medusascope provides all round visibility through the micro camera and LED lighting attachment on each instrument. The multi-cassette allows up to 6 instruments to be changed simply and quickly reducing operation times. Dual incision surgery maybe possible in simpler cases rather than the current 3 – 5 portals now commonly used.

Improving Surgical Methods Across Disciplines.

Laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery is often considered to be the best approach for many operations within the body cavity and includes operations such as: gallbladder surgery (Cholecystectomy), kidney surgery (tumours, cysts, stones, abnormal kidney drainage, atrophic kidneys), prostate (benign enlargement, tumours), colorectal (removal of sections of bowel, tumours) and gynaecological surgery (fibroids, uterine tumours and ovarian tumours, sterilisation, cysts etc.). Thoracic endoscopic surgery (tumours, removal of lung lobes) is also using similar techniques.

However, existing methods have considerable drawbacks, requiring numerous entry portals into the body with vision limitations and resulting issues of safety, slow tiring instrument exchange and difficult physical exertion and stress for surgeons because of poor ergonomic design.

Specifically, the clinical issues arising from existing instrument use include:

The procedure uses a solid laparoscope (telescope) passing into the body cavity through one portal and at least two additional portals taking single-use single-function instruments (scissors, graspers, dissectors etc.) down to the surgical target.

The exchange of the instruments during the procedure requires the extraction of the entire instrument from the portal, handing it to the scrub nurse and the surgeon taking eyes off the screen to handle the exchange.

The scrub nurse takes time to select the next device or may select the incorrect device.

The next instrument has to be awkwardly re-inserted and vision of the target re-established as the laparoscope held by an assistant may have drifted off target.

The integrity of the operation requires that an assistant – often a registrar surgeon – holds the heavy laparoscope with its camera on target for periods of hours.

Physically the assistant stands within the arc of the arms of the surgeon wielding the instruments: this is physically awkward for the surgeon who is holding two working instruments at the same time with one arm round the assistant.

As the procedure progresses the dissection passes beyond the frontal vision offered by the solid laparoscope and carries a risk of damage to organs or blood vessels.

Current laparoscopes limit access in to tight corners within the body cavities because the instruments have to manipulated alongside the laparoscope because there is insufficient space.

So, the surgeon has to make further portals and re-insert the laparoscope and working instruments so they may approach from a different angle to improve visual access and safety. The result is that in complicated cases there is a need for multiple often painful portals.

The laparoscope requires re-sterilisation and vision deteriorates with usage and the surgeon usually needs some 6 single use disposable working instruments to complete the procedure.

Multiple portals increase post-operative pain and prolongs recovery.

Conventional laparoscopes do not assist the surgeons to detect the presence of residual cancer cells.

A New Solution

A new solution is badly needed to improve outcomes and meet the needs of hospitals, clinicians and patients.

A better approach would be a sterile and totally disposable laparoscopic platform consisting of an integrated magazine of working instruments, camera(s) and lighting as standard, enhanced by cancer identification and improved ergonomic design. This is the Medusascope™.

What is The Medusascope

The Medusascope™ is a unique laparoscopic surgical platform developed by Surgical Synergy Limited (SSL).

It has reached the β-prototype development stage and represents an exciting investment opportunity.

How we resolve needs with real market solutions

NeedsSolutions

To provide a totally disposable platform offering fresh laparoscopes containing integrated vision, lighting and working instruments instead of a single laparoscope and separate additional portals for the working instruments.

The Medusascope™, provides a quality, guaranteed Prion-free, sterile and completely disposable integrated platform

To accelerate instrument exchange.

Medusascope™ provides “Pick and Go” selection of instruments from an integrated magazine containing working tips for all procedures

To enhance the reliability and accuracy of working instrument choice

The Medusascope™ RFID system consistently and accurately displays the available working tips in the magazine and their location, on the monitor

To offer a system which brings the vision consistently on to the surgical target as dissection proceeds reducing risk to organs and blood vessels

The Medusascope™, provides quality vision in the petal design of the cannula focussed on the surgical target as dissection proceeds so reducing risks

To provide a comprehensive platform resulting in a reduced number of incisions and time away from employment for patients

The Medusascope™, improves access and target vision which will often reduce the number of portals and generally result in less patient discomfort and time away from work

To reduce the need for an awkwardly positioned assistant and the use of a solid laparoscope requiring re-sterilisation loaded with a heavy external camera

The Medusascope™, provides the opportunity for “On-Target” vision from 2 portals. In many cases this will obviate the need for the solid laparoscope currently used, reducing the need for an assistant and improving the ergonomic stance for the surgeon

The surgeon may require specific sophisticated instruments to pass through the portal which are not fabricated by Surgical Synergy Limited

The Medusascope™, provides a “pass-thru channel” which allows surgeon-preference instruments to pass through the Medusascope to the target because its working channel is maximised through the new technology used for the camera and lights

The surgeon often needs to determine the presence of stray cancer cells embedded in collateral tissues. These are difficult to define under direct vision

The Medusascope™, has a second camera using different wavelengths in one petal opposite the normal visualisation petal and devoted to demonstrating aging or cancer cells

The surgeon needs the platform to be lightweight, “balanced” and ergonomically functional especially if he is using two Medusascopes

Each Medusascope™, consists of two micro-cameras and two sets of LED lights, providing a balanced light weight system and light of specific user defined quality

Reduce the use of expensive hospital assets, theatre time and free up beds.

The Medusascope™, accelerates surgery, reduces portals, frees up hospital resources and reduces procedural costs and surgeon fatigue

Upper Seed Funding Round

Now open to investors

If you’re interested in getting involved and becoming an investor of Surgical Synergy, we’re now looking for investors for our next phase which will bring us closer to getting our tool into the hands of medical professionals across the UK and the wider world.