Development of a Clip instrument for Laparoscopy

Important results from the project

The purpose of the project was to develop new technology for a refined laparoscopic instrument adapted to a new type of suture locking device made by Assut Europe SpA. The objective is to shorten the suturing process by up to 50% and thereby reducing the time patients are put under anesthesia during surgery. The various technical aspects of the project has been challenging but was resolved with the end result being not only a fully functional laparoscopy instrument but also an instrument certified according to the ISO 13485 medical directive, CE-marked and ready for production.

Expected long term effects

The results of the project can be summarized in two parts. First, Laprotech has shown that it is possible, with limited resources to develop high-quality surgical instruments in Sweden today. Secondly, the newly created product has now gone from engineering and development into domestic production creating income and jobs. The company will continue to develop new products while manufacturing its own products for distribution, both domestic and internationally.

Approach and implementation

By matching Laprotech´s medical field background with information from our partner / customer in Italy, a R&D plan was created. After some minor adjustments, work has been completed accordingly. During the development phase we used a panel of doctors to continuously provide feedback of our work and the user-friendliness of the product to ensure we did not incorporate errors into the final version of the instrument. The instrument is now finalized and we have shown it is possible to create a product that meets international expectations of function and quality.