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Flex Dex

Nothing has captured the imagination of clinicians more than the surgical robot. Able to augment and improve what some consider the most skilled tools on the planet: the hands of a surgeon. Until now, cost was a major factor that prevented the migration of this technology to veterinary medicine. Infiniti has partnered with FlexDex Surgical® to bring robotic functionality to veterinary surgeons at a price any practice can afford.

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Details

The FlexDex Surgical® Articulating Needle Driver provides a solution to surgeons by enabling complex suturing in any orientation through the use of intuitive, articulated movements and rotations. The mechanical design precisely translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist and arm movements into corresponding movements at the tip, allowing the user to accurately follow the curve of the needle through the tissue, while maintaining optimal ergonomics.

How it works

The user wears a comfortable foam wrist cuff that clicks into the 3-axis gimbal at the back of the device and controls the device through intuitive movements of the Infinity Handle. Any movement from the user’s hand is directly translated to the tip of the needle driver, so the user feels like they have an extension of their hand inside the patient’s body. When the user rotates the dial with their fingertips, the 3-axis gimbal rotates freely around their wrist, enabling a continuous and infinite rotation.

Benefits

Rotation and articulation are controlled intuitively and accurately by the surgeon’s fingertips, allowing the smallest adjustments of the needle. The surgeon can achieve precise positioning of the needle and the delicate movements needed for complex reconstructive suturing.

FlexDex combines fingertip rotation with
adjustable articulation to achieve the optimal
movement for suturing: the ‘Articulated Roll’.
Unlike any other handheld suturing device,
FlexDex drives the needle through the tissue
precisely following the curve of the needle, even when suturing at extreme angles. The action is predictable, allowing the user to treat the tissue gently and perform a precise and secure anastomosis every time.

Rotation is performed by rotating the Infinity Dial with their fingertips, so the user no longer needs to pronate and supinate their arm during suturing. This innovative and patented design allows the device to rotate independently of the user’s arm, allowing the user to always maintain an ergonomic position even in difficult angles and therefore reducing muscle effort and potential joint strain.

FlexDex is a purely mechanical device, controlled by cables and pulleys, with the same tactile feedback as other laparoscopic instruments. By removing any motorization or electronics, the surgeon can feel the pressure exerted on the needle and suture, in order to treat the tissue as gently as possible.

Training Accessories

As with anything that requires manual dexterity, practice makes perfect. Infiniti provides training simulators designed for surgeons to hone the skills unique to FlexDex technology.

Complete with a simulated ports and designed to allow the user to replicate extreme in vivo angles. This simulator is ideally suites for benchtop simulation for self training or for teaching residents and other trainees.

Made of silicon and fabricated to provide the feel of soft tissue, the pad has suture targets oriented at a variety of angles. Suturing the targets in this model will help the user learn the hand motions that will be needed to suture in vivo in any orientation.

A fun way for hand and wrist movements to become second nature. Learn how to grasp and maneuver the articulating head into any position.