A number of new imaging-based surgical techniques are being developed for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.  As time goes by, surgeons seem to be shifting away from open procedures involving large incisions in favor of procedures involving smaller incisions.  As incisions have become smaller, it has become more difficult for surgeons to gather direct sensory data, and surgeons have come to depend increasingly on imaging technology.  As doctors attempt to make procedures even less invasive, new sensory technology will be needed. 

A number of new surgical techniques designed to be minimally invasive are being explored.  One such technique is single-port laparoscopy.  Most traditional laparoscopic procedures involve one incision per instrument, but this new technique involves passing all instruments through one port, often the umbilicus.  Another new technique is called natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, or NOTES.  This method involves passing surgical tools through a natural orifice and then through the epithelium lining the GI tract.  Both of these techniques are still being improved, and both will require excellent imaging systems. 

A research team led by Dennis Fowler, MD, of Columbia is seeking to create surgical robots capable of being anchored at a location of interest inside the body and then operated remotely.  They have created a prototype that is ten millimeters in diameter and less than 110 millimeters long.  Their device contains two cameras capable of tracking objects, and it has motor-driven surgical arms.  In the future, Fowler hopes to add more sensory devices to his robotic platform in order to obtain more real-time feedback about the effects of surgical intervention.        

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