title: LESS and NOTES instrumentation: future.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) are novel techniques with potential to minimize the morbidity of surgery. Challenging ergonomics, instrument clashing, and the lack of true triangluation still remain great concerns.
  
  
  RESULTS
  New technological developments in instrument design have been created to enhance clinical applicability of these techniques. Further technological advancements including the incorporation of novel robotic surgical platforms (R-LESS) exploit the ergonomic benefits in an attempt to further advance LESS surgery. Promising devices include magnetic anchoring and guidance systems that have the potential to allow external manoeuvring of intracorporeal instruments while facilitating triangulation and reducing clashing. As well, the benefit of miniature in-vivo robots that can be placed endoscopically intra-abdominally and controlled wirelessly will allow internal manipulation of tissue from internal repositionable platforms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It remains to be seen whether LESS or NOTES will prove their clinical benefit over standard laparoscopic or robotic procedures. In this chapter, we review the current LESS and NOTES technology, and focus on new innovations and research in the field.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas bDepartment of Urology, Robert Wood Johnson University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Ephrem O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Olweny
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cadeddu
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D020706:Laparoscopes / Q000639:trends; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000639:trends; D057605:Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000639:trends; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000639:trends; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000639:trends