title: A magnetic levitation robotic camera for minimally invasive surgery: Useful for NOTES?
abstract: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is rising in popularity generating a revolution in operative medicine during the past few decades. Although laparoscopic techniques have not significantly changed in the last 10 years, several advances have been made in visualization devices and instrumentation.
  
  
  
  Our team, composed of surgeons and biomedical engineers, developed a magnetic levitation camera (MLC) with a magnetic internal mechanism dedicated to MIS. Three animal trials were performed. Porcine acute model has been chosen after animal ethical committee approval, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy, nephrectomy and hernioplastic repair have been performed.
  
  
  
  MLC permits to complete efficiently several two-port laparoscopy surgeries reducing patients' invasiveness and at the same time saving surgeon's dexterity.
  
  
  
  We strongly believe that insertable and softly tethered devices like MLS camera will be an integral part of future surgical systems, thus improving procedures efficiency, minimizing invasiveness and enhancing surgeon dexterity and versatility of visions angles.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Di Lorenzo
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy. liviacenci@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cenci
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simi
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arcudi
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tognoni
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Achille Lucio
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gaspari
authors.affiliation: STORM Lab UK, School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valdastri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008280:Magnetics; D057605:Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D065287:Robotic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013552:Swine
keywords: Magnetic internal mechanism; Magnetic levitation camera; Minimally invasive surgery; NOTES; Robotic surgery; Single-access surgery