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Encision: Making Laparoscopic Surgeries Safe

CIO VendorGreg Trudel, President
While hospitals strive to deliver quality care and ensure the best surgical outcomes, controlling medical cost remains a herculean task. Most healthcare providers rely on reusable products to operate economically. However, their pragmatic approach can sometimes prove fatal for patients undergoing laparoscopic surgeries. The reason: Repetitive usage of electrosurgical instruments might lead to intra-operative insulation failure and capacitive coupling—the root causes of stray energy burns and abdominal injuries. While many patients experience post surgery trauma, healthcare practitioners are largely unaware of the protective measures to nip the problem in the bud. Aware of these shortcomings in the healthcare arena, Boulder, CO-based firm, Encision, offers a patented technology for advanced patient safety while keeping the cost of laparoscopic surgeries in check.

Encision’s patented technology leverages fundamentals of Physics to dissipate the electrical energy emitted due to insulation failure or capacitive coupling from electrosurgical products. Its Active Electrode Monitoring (AEM®) technology underpins its AEM EndoShield® Burn Protection System, which monitors laparoscopic instruments. The AEM-based electrosurgical products have a protective shield—a conductive tube, surrounding the primary insulation layer and active electrode—which neutralizes the risk of capacitive coupling by draining the energy from the patient back to the EndoShield. “Our AEM EndoShield Burn Protection System saves the patients by absorbing the excessive potential energy,” explains Greg Trudel, President of Encision.

Trudel acknowledges that wear and tear of surgical products remain undetected and eventually become major contributors to insulation failure.
As a safeguard against these problems, Encision’s cutting-edge AEM system actively cancels the probability of energy dissipation by switching off the instrument power to prevent the flow of high voltage therapeutic energy. “All AEM-based surgical instruments, whether reusable or disposable, can be used for conducting surgeries safely,” adds Trudel.

Encision has raised the safety bar in laparoscopic surgeries significantly with its cutting-edge technology which is complementary to the existing suite of surgical products. Even if a healthcare provider has been using an instrument that emits a different waveform for cutting or coagulating tissues, Encision’s AEM technology can support those surgical procedures. The firm is continuously enhancing its product line to closely align with customer-needs and expedite the adoption by the medical community.

All AEM-based surgical instruments, whether reusable or disposable, can be used for conducting surgeries safely

Encision has been on a mission to check the unsafe operations and is working tirelessly to create an environment where patient safety remains the top priority. Trudel explains the essentiality of AEM adoption by citing a recent encounter that highlights the grim state of reusable laparoscopic instruments where one out of every five had impaired insulation. With prior approval of the hospital for the examination of laparoscopic surgical instruments, Encision thoroughly checked the surgical devices, and the results were alarming. Encision’s cutting-edge technology detected a hole in the insulation of the fifth instrument in the tray. The consequences could have been fatal had the problem remained undetected. The examination not only saved the patient but also helped the specialist to avert rendering traumatic experience for the patient.

Even as Encision spearheads the awareness drive for safety in operations through its technology solutions, the company’s strategy and best practices adhere to the advisory issued by FDA on the dangers of monopolar laparoscopic surgery. The firm looks forward to collaborating with surgeons, nurses, and healthcare providers as a part of the awareness campaign. What is more, Encision aims to foray into adjacent medical fields such as Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) and general surgeries.