A stiff Steerable Guide for Natural Orifice Surgery

Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES), which is also called 'scar-less'
or 'incision-less surgery', is considered by leaders in the field to have the potential to be the
next major advance beyond minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. The predicted market
value for NOTES is $4bn per annum. In NOTES procedures entry to the abdomen is gained
via the stomach (preferred) or colon or vagina. Some 300 cases have now been conducted
around the world using standard endoscopes. Surgeons conducting these initial operations
have reported that the full benefits ofNOTES can only be realised with new improved tools1.
OC Robotics is a world leader in snake-arm® robots. Snake-arm robots are stiff, flexible,
steerable endoscopes that are ideal for NOTES. To date, snake-arm robots have been
developed for remote nuclear inspection and maintenance, counter-terrorism and aerospace
assembly. This work has been widely reviewed and acknowledged. On 21 April2009 OC
Robotics was awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
OC Robotics has been monitoring developments in the field ofNOTES and is aware of the
new entrants to the field (mostly US venture backed start-ups) and the patent land grab that
started in 2005. The task of researching and developing new surgical tools is complex,
expensive and time-consuming. Grant support from SWRDA is essential to start this effort
and will secure jobs now and in the future will enable job creation in the region.