Tools and technology have long played a pivotal role in advancing surgical success. From developments in sterile materials, through to the application of robotics, it’s a journey that stretches back hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years. Rudimentary trephines thought to be used for cranial surgeries have been discovered across Neolithic sites and the use of a wide variety of surgical instruments is documented throughout ancient Greek and Roman history. It is in the 18th and 19th centuries that a modern surgery, more recognisable to us, is born.
The work of pioneers
During the European age of enlightenment, many people contributed to those initial advancements in modern surgery. Perhaps most notably, are the contributions from Joseph Lister, John Hunter, and James Simpson who transformed this field.
John Hunter was a Scottish surgeon and scientist living in London who took an experimental approach to anatomy. Throughout his lifetime he reconstructed and challenged existing surgical data, achieving a collection of over 13,000 specimens from plants, animals and humans. Out with his own work, he encouraged his students to experiment and apply these revolutionary learnings. This led to several of his students making significant contributions of their own to the surgical field. Benjamin Bell, for example, the first scientific surgeon to advocate for the use of painkillers (namely opium) to aid post-surgical recovery.
Half a century after the peak of Hunter’s career, came James Simpson. Another Scottish doctor with his own contributions to make. Simpson was an Obstetrician and alongside being a huge advocate of midwifery as a discipline, his explorative work on the effects of anaesthetic substances like chloroform (much of which he tested upon himself) changed the way we do surgery today and opened the applications of surgery for the future.
The final pioneer to mention, is Joseph Lister. Lister carried out a range of work based on that of Louis Pasteur, resulting in antiseptic methods for the treatment of wounds. Between the years of 1857 and 1859, he published no less than 11 papers, covering a range of topics founded from his experimentation and research, including inflammation, coagulation, and the nervous system. His research resulted in a better understanding of infection (pre germ-theory) and contributed to his development of carbolic acid to sterilise surgical instruments. This was built on in the late 19th Century, with the use of steam and dry heat to deliver similar levels of sterilisation.
21st Century tech
By the time the 20th and 21st centuries came around, the most impactful advancements were of a slightly different nature; yes, medical research continued, but technological advancements and the development of tools changed the face of the field once again.
The discovery and application of Electrosurgery in the 1920s and 30s delivered a vast improvement to surgical precision and minimised damage to surrounding tissues. Heat induced by electrical energy surgeons (which was built into familiar tools) allowed surgeons to cut and cauterise, to minimising the bleeding. Decades later, ultrasonic technology was used in surgeries but didn’t reach laparoscopic surgeries until the early 90s.
These technologies revolutionised the surgical field. Increased precision, reduced blood loss, minimalised tissue damage, and created faster recovery times. All led to better patient outcomes, and Nami’s technology stands to equal this transformation by once again enabling ultrasonic technology to be used in robotic assisted surgeries.
The introduction of robotics
Robotic-assisted surgeries first took place in the 80s, with the aim of removing error in precise surgeries due to tremors of the hand (a very human problem). This technology really came to the forefront with the Da Vinci system, a surgeon-controlled robotic system that was approved for use by the FDA in America, in the year 2000. Modern versions of this system now provide surgeons with 3D high-definition views (10 times beyond what the human eye can see), the robotic arms are controlled by surgeons, but the technology ‘filters out’ tremors, and delivers a far greater range of motion than a surgeon’s human hand could achieve in constrained access points. Built in smart tools, deliver surgeons with intelligence and data to inform future procedures, showing the degree to which the technology keeps advancing.
This is also a great example of the growing demand for existing technologies to do more. Getting used to working with such tools is an important piece of the puzzle, by increasing application and features without sacrificing that familiarity, patients get the very best outcomes.
Ultrasonic technology has been incompatible with existing robotic technology largely due to the technology’s size and lack of flexibility, until now. Nami’s inaugural technology is a miniaturised ultrasonic scalpel that’s compatible for use in robotic assisted surgeries, giving these existing technologies further capability to cauterise with enhanced dexterity and precision. This in turn delivers better outcomes during surgery and a faster recovery for patients.
The Nami team are hard at work developing a pipeline of revolutionary ultrasonic scalpels and to continue unlocking the future of ultrasonic surgery.