Endoscopy

A company co-founded by Vanderbilt mechanical engineering professor Robert J. Webster III has received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could open the door for new diagnostic and therapeutic applications of flexible endoscopy. Read More

Modernized endoscopic system blends robotics and magnetic coupling to improve medical procedures, starting with colonoscopies. Read More

Last fall, the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center became the second facility in the country and third in the world to use a fully endoscopic surgical technique to remove an acoustic neuroma, a rare benign tumor on the balance and hearing nerves. Read More

VIDEO» A Vanderbilt research team has successfully created a mechanical wrist less than 1/16th of an inch thick -- small enough to use in needlescopic surgery, the smallest form of minimally invasive surgery. Read More

Mechanical engineering professor Pietro Valdastri and colleagues will continue to develop a capsule endoscope for colonoscopy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease with the support of a 4-year, $1.5 million NIH grant. Read More

Byron Smith was eager to increase the number of people who get screened for colorectal cancer each year. His dedication has led to a new venture – EndoInSight – and a National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Program grant to commercialize a tool for an almost painless colonoscopy. Read More

Four Vanderbilt School of Engineering faculty members have been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create new tools, including a web-based modeling and simulation infrastructure, intended to help speed up the development of miniature medical capsule robots. Read More