OLYMPUS INTEGRATED ENDOSURGERY SYSTEM

Endoscopic surgery introduces several problems not encountered during open surgery. These arise as a result of the use of many different typ es of special equipment. Difficulties include, for example, those enco untered in the intricacies of preoperative preparation, the complexiti es of the intra-operative use of such equipment, and the spatial probl ems caused by additional apparatus in the OR. These cannot be overcome by simply improving the individual items of equipment used for this t ype of surgery. We have developed an integrated system, which makes it possible to systematically control all the equipment used for endosco pic surgery by computer; thus safe and smooth endoscopic surgery is fa cilitated. With this new system, the complex preparations performed by nurses, as well as the complex intra-operative equipment operations p erformed by the surgeon, are simplified by the computerised automatic initial setting function (allowing one-touch initialisation of all equ ipment), remote control of equipment from a sterile region and a funct ion which displays all of the necessary information on a central displ ay. To date, this system has been used clinically in more than 20 medi cal facilities. Favourable results have been obtained and the validity of the basic concepts and specifications of this system have been sup ported.