Feasibility of joystick guided colonoscopy

Area of Science:

• Medical Devices
• Gastroenterology
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Flexible endoscopes are crucial for minimally invasive interventions.
• Current endoscope handling requires multiple personnel or complex manipulation.
• A novel add-on platform offers single-person control of endoscopes and instruments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a new joystick-controlled add-on platform for flexible endoscope manipulation.
• To compare novice and expert performance with the platform versus conventional controls during colonoscopy simulation.

Main Methods:

• Five endoscopy experts and 14 novices performed simulated colonoscopies.
• Participants used either conventional angulation wheels or the joystick interface.
• Training sessions were conducted until novices reached expert-level performance metrics.

Main Results:

• Experts achieved their target intubation times and low pain scores after short training periods.
• Novices using the joystick interface showed similar cecal intubation times and visualization performance compared to conventional controls.
• No significant differences in visualization performance were observed between novice groups.

Conclusions:

• The add-on platform facilitates effective endoscope manipulation for colonoscopy.
• Experts require minimal training to master the new platform.
• Novices demonstrate comparable efficiency and effectiveness with the joystick interface versus traditional methods.