On September 9th, the research group of Sanyo Co., Ltd., a cotton swab maker, and Seiichi Nakajima, a specially appointed professor (full-time) of the Joint Research Division for Next-Generation Endoscopic Therapy, International Medical and Industrial Information Center, Osaka University, was made ultra-thin. The company announced that it has jointly developed a cotton swab, conducted clinical evaluation, and put it into practical use as a "Dr. HUBY micro 11mm medical cotton swab."
There is a growing demand for "surgery with smaller scratches" in laparoscopic surgery.In response to this, many surgical instruments have been downsized, but "surgical cotton swabs" have long been limited to 5 mm due to manufacturing method restrictions.Cotton swabs are used in various surgical operations for the purpose of grasping, raising, and bluntly detaching tissues, and further reduction in diameter has been desired.
With the support of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency "26 Amendment Manufacturing / Commercial / Service Innovation Subsidy", the research group reviewed the surgical cotton swabs from the manufacturing method under the guidance of Professor Nakajima, and made it 3 mm for the first time in the world. succeeded in.Whereas the conventional 5mm original product is made by winding cotton thread, Sanyo's product is manufactured by a special original technology that makes a certain shape after wiping cotton powder on the shaft. There is.Using this technology, it has become possible to reduce the diameter beyond the conventional limit and to design a more free shape (uneven shape).
The ultra-thin diameter is expected to have many merits such as minimal invasiveness (almost no scars remain), no obstruction of the field of view during surgery, and protective work.