Research and development of microprocessed, portable, and low cost videolaparoscopy equipment, with functions for monitoring and recording vital signs and images

Abstract

Carrying out abdominal surgery by laparoscopy requires an insufflator, a piece of equipment responsible for distending the peritoneal cavity with CO2; an external light source, for illumination of the cavity, which permits the visualization of the interior of the abdomen; microcamera, responsible for the capture and projection of the image on a monitor; and forceps, specific to the surgical procedure. The laparoscopy equipment industry is virtually nonexistent in Brazil. Imported products have a very high cost and the tendency to be sold in modules. The present lack of integration between the laparoscopy equipment items means that the surgeon has to acquire various systems which take up a large amount of space, making their handling, control and transport difficult. In this context, the objective of the present project is to respond to the laparoscopy equipment market, which is growing, with a national product which is low cost and which has differentiated resources which will make it innovative and competitive. The principal advantages of the product should be its portability, the integrated and easy to use control interface, its resources for televideolaparoscopy (sharing images in real time via local network and/or the internet), digital documentation, automatic luminosity control and its safety features. (AU)