FDA Clears Novare's EndoLink Articulating Instruments

Novare Surgical Systems announced that it has received clearance from the FDA to market its family of EndoLink surgical instruments, single-use hand-held instruments that incorporate six degrees of articulating freedom.

Comprised of grasper, dissector, needle drive and scissors, the instruments are used in laparoscopic surgery to enable minimally invasive approaches in gastric bypass, cardiac bypass, pulmonary lobectomy and other general and urologic procedures.

Unlike traditional endoscopic instruments that feature four degrees of freedom -- up/down, left/right, rotation and in/out actuation -- the EndoLink instruments also feature the ability to move the wrist left/right and up/down. The additional two degrees of freedom enables a whole new class of minimally invasive procedures, and can significantly reduce the complexity and shorten the learning curve of a number of existing high-volume minimally invasive procedures.