{"id":229,"date":"2019-06-21T07:23:12","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T07:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mymedicplus.com\/news\/?p=229"},"modified":"2021-03-31T00:52:25","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T19:22:25","slug":"new-endoscope-brings-ear-surgery-into-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedicplus.com\/blog\/new-endoscope-brings-ear-surgery-into-21st-century\/","title":{"rendered":"New endoscope brings ear surgery into 21st century"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source: irishtimes.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hearing loss affects more than 500 million people worldwide and surgery is one of the ways the problem can be addressed. However, operating on the complex structure of the ear is a challenge for ENT surgeons who have to perform delicate procedures using large, cumbersome microscopes which Tympany Medical co-founder Dr Liz McGloughlin says are far from ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016 \nMcGloughlin teamed up with designer and company co-founder Rory \nO\u2019Callaghan to develop a miniature device that will replace the scopes \nused by surgeons for the last half century. Tympany\u2019s solution will \nrevolutionise how ENT surgeons operate and will also allow many more \nprocedures to be carried out in outpatient settings.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have developed\n the world\u2019s first specialised endoscope for ear surgery that gives \nsurgeons a wide-angle view of the ear but still allows them to operate \nwithout changing their well-established surgical techniques,\u201d \nMcGloughlin says. \u201cOur product is called Otovu and it is a compact \nvisualisation device that leverages cutting-edge optic and sensor \ntechnologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPathology of the ear often necessitates surgery to repair the eardrum or remove benign tumours which affect conductive or bony hearing and our device allows surgeons to operate in a faster and more minimally invasive manner,\u201d explains McGloughlin who studied medicine at UCD and trained in anaesthesia and critical care before joining the BioInnovate programme at NUI Galway in 2016. BioInnovate brings medical practitioners, engineers and designers together to find solutions to unmet clinical needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs an industrial designer who also has a masters in medical-device design, Rory could see the ergonomic challenges instantly and when we showed our initial concept to Prof Colin Driscoll, chair of the department of otorhinolaryngology \u2013 head and neck surgery \u2013 at the Mayo Clinic, he was really excited and wondered why surgeons were not already operating this way,\u201d McGloughlin says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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