Technology Committee

As EAES has become a reference point for a multitude of surgeons and other specialists from different environments, from research centres to private practice, a balanced attitude is needed between cutting-edge innovation and daily clinical use. This responsible approach is fully represented in the committee’s activities and mirrored by the yearly activity that includes both breakthrough presentations and survey activities, as well as by the effort to deliver to the audience of our symposium a comprehensive overview of available devices on the market, evolving technology and future new devices. The committee interacts and cooperates with other committees and societies in fields of mutual interest. A clear example is simulation for the training of surgeons in minimal access interventions, where, as in the domain of the Educational Committee, full integration of methodologies and technologies are required. The Operating Room of the future, digital technologies, mixed reality, telemedicine, novel approaches such as robotics, NOTES and new energised instruments represent the daily interest of the technology committee’s members, opinion leaders and active researchers in these fields, committed to improve the future of our patients.”

Finally, a challenging but crucial part of our mission is to spread technology and minimally invasive surgery in developing and low budget countries and hospitals. We strongly believe that technology and innovations are not a luxury reserved for the privileged only.

In addition to the general activities, the technology committee also has 4 subcommittees.
Each subcommittees consist of a chair, some committee members and external consultants.

OR.net

The committee is involved in the OR.net taskforce for integration and communication infrastructure for operating rooms.

• Connect heterogeneous data sources and integrate information, OR IoT-platform
• Reference project ORNET with 90 partners (industry, hospital operators, academia)
• Result: Medical device interoperability and data integration, added value e.g. OR data spider, documentation, workflow management

For more information, click here.

Fluorescence registry

The EURO-FIGS registry is promoted by the EAES and the IHU Strasbourg Institute of Image Guided Surgery. The primary aim of the EURO-FIGS registry is to enable an easy and centralised collection of safety and efficacy data of Fluorescence Guidance in various surgical applications. Data is collected from surgical centres across Europe.

For more information on the registry click here.

FUSE project

The committee has committed itself to the SAGES FUSE programme. The Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy™ (FUSE) program was developed to meet the need for increased education and training in the principles and properties of operating electrosurgical instruments safely. SAGES encourages learning and applying these fundamental skills in order to ensure a minimal standard of care for all patients undergoing surgery. For more information visit the website or check this video.

3D consensus conference 2018

After a Health technology Assessment on 3D vision technology was completed last year, the aim of the 3D consensus conference was to generate a guideline on the same topic based on best available evidence and expert opinions of EAES Technology committee members. After a systematic review of the literature by an international group of research fellows, an expert panel with extensive engineering and clinical experience in the use of 3Dvision technology discussed statements and recommendations. Twenty-two statements and 2 recommendations were obtained unanimously by the experts and were discussed and voted on at the consensus conference during the EAES congress in May 2018 in London by the attendees of the meeting.

The most important regarding general topics are:

1. 3D vision improves outcomes for junior trainees in performing standardised tasks in box trainers, only when 3D systems with HD screen and passive polarised glasses are used and only when properly set up
2. The use of 3D imaging systems improves laparoscopic box trainer completion time and error rate but this benefit has not been studied n clinical practice.

The most important regarding clinical settings are:

1. 3D laparoscopy shortens the operating time in all the analysed surgical settings (general surgery, urology and gynaecology)
2. The pooling of data from the different settings seems to suggest a lowering in the overall rate of complications after surgical procedures involving suturing in 3D laparoscopy, especially in the gynaecology setting; indeed data are too heterogeneous and weak to sustain any recommendation, other than implications for future research

These statements produced 2 recommendations:

1. 3D laparoscopy might shorten operative times
2. Future research is recommended to demonstrate that 3D vision may lower the complication rate in laparoscopy

The majority of the EAES members supported these statements. The consensus proceedings provide additional guidance to surgeons and surgical residents providing help when using 3D vision technology.

The 3D consensus conference outcomes have been published in the Surgical Endoscopy journal.