Endoscopic submucosal dissection and tunneling procedures using a novel all-in-one bipolar device

Background and study aims Recent innovations in devices and techniques have revolutionized the field of endoscopic resection procedures. In this study, we evaluated the safety and feasibility of endoscopic submucosal dissection and tunneling procedures with a novel, multipurpose bipolar device. Patients and methods Data from consecutive patients who underwent per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (STER), and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) using a novel bipolar device (December 2019 to February 2020) were analyzed retrospectively. Procedure duration, technical success, and adverse events (AEs) were recorded. Results A total of 10 procedures were performed using the novel bipolar device during the study period. The procedures included POEM (n = 7), STER for esophageal sub-epithelial tumor (n = 1), ESD for rectal polyp (n = 1), and gastric neuroendocrine tumor (n = 1). POEM was successfully completed in all patients. In patients who underwent STER and ESD, en-bloc resection was achieved in all. Mean procedure time for submucosal tunneling procedures (POEM and STER) was 59.12 ± 31.12 minutes. The procedures were completed without the requirement for exchange of accessories in eight cases (80 %). There were no major AEs. Mild and moderate AEs occurred during POEM and included capno-peritoneum (n = 1), retroperitoneal CO2 (n = 1), and empyema (n = 1). Conclusion ESD and tunneling procedures can be safely performed without the need for exchange of accessories using a novel bipolar device. Randomized comparison with conventional knives isrequired to confirm the utility of this device.

Prospective, Randomized, Comparative, Multicenter Study of the Hybrid Ultrasonic Advanced Bipolar Device and the Ultrasonic Coagulating Shears in Open Thyroidectomy

Background. The hybrid ultrasonic advanced bipolar device (HUB) that integrates ultrasonic energy and advanced bipolar energy was recently developed and applied to thyroid surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of HUB and ultrasonic coagulating shears for open thyroidectomy. Methods. A total of 200 patients were enrolled from April to September 2017 in this prospective, randomized, multicenter study. Patients were randomly assigned to an ultrasonic group (n = 101) or a hybrid group (n = 99). Results. Operation times were similar in the 2 study groups, that is, 54.2 ± 25.2 minutes in the ultrasonic group and 50.2 ± 21.6 minutes in the hybrid group. Postoperative surgical results and morbidities were no different in the 2 groups. However, the total amount of bleeding was significantly less in the hybrid group (13.0 ± 17.7 mg vs 8.6 ± 11.5 mg; P = .042). Conclusions. Our study showed that there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in postoperative surgical results and morbidity. The total bleeding amount was significantly less in the hybrid group. The study shows that HUB is comparable to the ultrasonic coagulating shears in terms of efficacy and safety during thyroid surgery.

A Power and Area Efficient CMOS Bandgap Reference Circuit with an Integrated Voltage-Reference Branch

This work presents a compact and low power bandgap voltage reference design using self-biased current mirror circuit. This design eliminates the standard complementary-to-absolute-temperature (CTAT) bipolar device in the voltage-reference branch, reducing the bipolar area by 20 percent. Instead, the design shares the same bipolar device in the main CTAT branch for generating the reference voltage. An additional benefit of eliminating the voltage-reference branch is the reduction of total power consumption by approximately 30 percent. This novel topology reduces power and area of the core bandgap reference circuit without compromising temperature drift performance. Designed, fabricated and functionally tested in a 0.6 um CMOS process. The simulation result shows the temperature coefficient of this design is 6.3 ppm/C for a temperature range of -40C to 125C$. This bandgap reference design occupies a silicon area of 0.018 mm^2 and draws an average quiescent current of 2 uA from a supply voltage of 3.3-5V. The simulated flicker voltage noise is 4.34 uV/sqrt-Hz at 10 Hz.