If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections.

If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections.

No abstract

In natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, the insertion of surgical instruments can cause patient discomfort, even bleeding and perforation. This paper proposes a design of an overtube which can vary its radial dimension. It can be inserted through the natural orifice in a small diameter configuration and then enlarge its size and form a hollow and rigid channel to allow passing instruments, while to reduce the friction between the instruments and the surrounding tissue. A Bricard linkage is used as the basic unit of the overtube and a mechanism is designed to drive multiple Bricard units to fold or unfold. Optimization of the design parameters has been studied and comparison experiments have been completed to verify the feasibility of the design on reducing the shear forces and normal forces exerted during surgical instrument insertion. The ex vivo experiment is also completed to prove the protection of the overtube on the esophagus during the insertion. INDEX TERMS Deployable structure, forces exerted on the esophagus, mechanical design, protective device, transesophageal surgery.

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Praminda talked about working in healthcare research and development at the boundaries between academia and industry with an emphasis on the deep involvement of the stakeholders and end-users of the services to be developed. Dr. Lester Russell, Senior Director EMEA Scale Team, Intel Corporation. Lester drew on his combined skills and experience in clinical, commercial and health service roles to talk about the ways in which "the black box" of AI can be used for social good. By adopting ICT to improve healthcare he will highlight not only the potential applications for artificial intelligence in health and life sciences, but also the barriers to its adoption and practical implementation.

No abstract