A Medical Device Daily

Karl Storz Endoscopy-America (Culver City, California) reported that it is providing a $250,000 grant to support research programs of the Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research (NOSCAR).

NOSCAR represents a joint effort of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE; Oak Brook, Illinois) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES; Los Angeles). Its purpose is to promote natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, or NOTES, which offers promise as a significant advance in minimally invasive surgery.

"By supporting NOTES research, we are continuing a legacy at Karl Storz in partnering with thought leaders in our joint quest to develop new and innovative techniques for minimally invasive treatments," said Ali Amiri, VP of marketing and product development, Karl Storz. "We are excited about the possible benefits that NOTES may bring to patients and convinced that the NOSCAR research will contribute to safe adoption of this new technique in the future."

NOTES is an emerging transdisciplinary endoscopic therapy being studied that enables surgeons to perform a range of complex procedures in a minimally invasive fashion and leaving virtually no external scars (Medical Device Daily; April 4, 2008).

The $250,000 grant from Karl Storz will support fundamental research in the further development of NOTES techniques.

"NOTES is moving forward more rapidly than initially anticipated," said Robert Hawes, MD, ASGE past president. "Three years ago, we never anticipated the progress in the research arena that has been made in such a short period."

Karl Storz Endoscopy-America is an affiliate of Karl Storz (Tuttlingen, Germany), a provider of reusable endoscope technology.