New device illuminates operation site, doing away with shadows from surgical lights

Chang Ai-Lien, The Straits Times
 
Sometimes, the best ideas come from unexpected places.

Surgeon Tan Ngian Chye was watching his two-year-old daughter play with a rubber ball that lit up when it bounced, when he had his eureka moment.

Why not create a device to illuminate the part of the body being operated on from within, he mused. This would do away with the shadows - created by surgical lights - doctors currently have to battle when patients go under the knife.

Five years and a clinical trial later, a bendable device with a row of minute LEDs (light-emitting diodes) at its tip does just that, and it is set to be launched commercially in Europe this month.

"It's such a simple device but nobody had thought of it," said Associate Professor Tan, a senior consultant at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS).

Overhead lighting in operating theatres is generally unable to illuminate the entire cavity being operated on, while the headlamps that some surgeons wear are not ideal either, he said.

WORKING TOGETHER TO INNOVATE

This is a made-in-Singapore product and a good example of how collaboration across different entities can lead to innovative solutions.

- DR KEVIN KOH, CEO of Vivo Surgical, on Klaro, the bendable lighting device.

"When you want to change where the light shines, you have to move your head. It's not intuitive and it can be tiring," Prof Tan said.

Called Klaro, the new device was created by Singapore start-up Vivo Surgical, in collaboration with healthcare group SingHealth's Medical Technology Office, NCCS and Panasonic Lighting Europe.

To come up with the right design, the team from Vivo Surgical and Panasonic worked together with clinical engineers from the Medical Technology Office, Prof Tan and fellow surgeons from NCCS and the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). The effort was supported in part with grant funding from the National Health Innovation Centre.

And to get an idea of what was needed, the engineers went into the operating theatre to observe deep cavity surgical procedures for about two months, said a SingHealth spokesman.

Vivo Surgical brought the project together, and roped in electronics giant Panasonic to fine-tune the details. Said Vivo Surgical chief executive officer Kevin Koh: "This is a made-in-Singapore product and a good example of how collaboration across different entities can lead to innovative solutions."

The new device, which is for open surgery and disposed of after each use, is cooler than regular LEDs, so it does not damage any surrounding body tissue. It will be priced at less than US$100 (S$137) each, according to Dr Koh, who has a PhD in biomedical engineering.

Added Mr Katsufumi Miyamoto, the chief executive of Panasonic Lighting Europe, which partnered Vivo Surgical to create the device: "Vivo Surgical appeared to have a compelling new product concept which was appealing in view of the technical requirements as well as its commercial potential.

"At our company, we are particularly familiar with relevant materials and technologies related to such LED modules and LED power supplies. So we were happy to apply our know-how for this new application and to provide these main parts into the final solution."

Its inventors expect that the new light will make surgery a touch easier, which is always a boon for patients.

Commenting on the device, Associate Professor Emile Tan, a consultant at SGH's department of colorectal surgery, said: "This is a clever product that neatly fits in confined spaces, providing a flexible light source that can be made to fit the job at hand."

A procedure being done with the lighting device and without it (above). The device was created by Vivo Surgical, in collaboration with SingHealth's Medical Technology Office, National Cancer Centre Singapore and Panasonic Lighting Europe.PHOTO: VIVO SURGICAL

SOURCE: THE STRAITS TIMES SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION.