Industry-sponsored research in minimally invasive surgery

In many disciplines, including minimally invasive surgery, pharmaceutical and instrument companies are major sources of industry-sponsored research. There are two types of such research, industry-initiated and investigator-initiated. Distinction between them is sometimes blurred. In industry-sponsored research a conflict may occur between clinicians and sponsor. In all cases, a clinical trial should be done properly and ethically, and results, whether negative or positive, should be published. Disposition of intellectual property and authorship should be established before starting the trial.