The marvellous machine
Keyhole surgery was a pioneering invention of the 20th century, opening up a way to perform procedures with minimal blood loss, risk, pain and scarring. At the core of it: a laparoscope, inserted through a 5-10mm cannula, and attached to a camera to relay images to the operating theatre.
The issue was, how do you keep such a tiny tool free from bodily fluids and humidity – avoiding obscuring the image and potential infection from continually removing and reinserting the device?
The marvellous solution
The ingenious idea, devised through collaboration between Cipher Surgical and Norgren, lay in a simple puff of CO2. An inert gas, readily absorbed by the body, medical-grade carbon dioxide was identified as the ideal way to hygienically clean the laparoscope.
Through bespoke design and rigorous testing, we created a series of circuits that would reliably deliver this CO2 and successfully clean the machine – a crucial part of what would become OpClear®. Clinically approved, OpClear® is now at work making keyhole surgery ever safer and more effective.