ENDOVAC™ – IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY

Each year, around 2,800 people in the UK get a hole in their upper GI tract. These holes may occur on their own; arise from problems such as stomach ulcers; or be caused through surgery or other medical interventions. The presence of a hole allows leakage of gastrointestinal contents into the body which quickly leads to infection around vital organs such as the heart and lungs, a serious medical emergency that is fatal if not treated successfully.

In the past, the standard treatment for these holes has been surgery, but this was often unsuccessful. More recently surgeons have developed an alternative treatment strategy for this problem called Endoluminal Vacuum Therapy (EVT). However, this treatment still needs improvement as it requires multiple technically difficult procedures under general anaesthesia in an operating theatre to be successful.

ENDOVAC™ is a ground-breaking progression of EVT. This novel technology, currently in development, allows easier delivery of treatment without the need for general anaesthesia, meaning the procedure does not need to be performed in an operating theatre. ENDOVAC™ makes EVT safer, quicker, easier and cheaper, and importantly is far less traumatic for patients. It will also enable patients to be mobile during treatment, unlike standard EVT, where patients are often confined to their hospital beds.

Endovac™ in action