Origami-Inspired Surgical Tools Are Even Less Invasive

Mar-12-16 Inspired by origami, Brigham Young engineers have created surgical tools so small, the required incisions will heal without sutures.

The tiny tools, which could find their way onto the da Vinci robotic surgical systems, are as small as 3mm in diameter. Rather than the conventional mechanical components that allow the tools to open and close, the BYU tools rely on origami folds, which created a natural flex.

According to Spencer Magleby, a mechanical engineering professor at BYU, “These small instruments will allow for a whole new range of surgeries to be performed—hopefully one day manipulating things as small as nerves. The origami-inspired ideas really help us to see how to make things smaller and smaller and to make them simpler and simpler.”

More Info about this Invention:

[MEDGADGET.COM]
[NEWS.BYU.EDU]

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