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Encompassing the full spectrum of laparoscopic and basic surgical skills training.

Shaping the future of surgical training with an evolving ecosystem of simulators, connecting practice to procedure, from basic skills to high fidelity training.

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Serving the full spectrum of needs for laparoscopic and basic surgical skills training.

Shaping the future of surgical training with an evolving ecosystem of simulators, connecting practice to procedure from basic skills to high fidelity training.

Partnerships
Paul Leeder, ALSGBI LapPass lead

Inovus Medical appointed as the official manufacturer and supplier of the LapPass training kits

Launched by ALSGBI in 2015, the LapPass is a nationally recognised certificate of proficiency in the technically demanding skills required for laparoscopic surgery and the only validated laparoscopic skills curriculum in the UK. The LapPass certificate can be added to a trainee surgeon’s portfolio when a series of timed laparoscopic skills tests are successfully passed.
 
The original LapPass tasks were designed such that they could be created by off the shelf materials in order to keep costs to a minimum. With a growing uptake of the curriculum across the UK and overseas it has however, been increasingly difficult to ensure standardisation of the tasks and as such the ALSGBI sought a partner to help create a standardised and scalable platform for the LapPass curriculum.

ALSGBI LapPass lead, Mr Paul Leeder, said: 

The ALSGBI are pleased to be working in association with Inovus Medical on the delivery of the newly designed LapPass kits. The kits bring improved standardisation to the tasks which we believe will further improve the experience of trainee surgeons who are working towards their LapPass certification. Inovus Medical’s ethos of affordable, accessible and functional healthcare simulation is something that aligns with the ideals of the ALSGBI and stands to make this a successful collaboration.

Mr Paul Leeder, ALSGBI LapPass® lead

Inovus Medical specialise in manufacturing and designing affordable take home and institutional laparoscopic simulators with complementary task based jigs available to support trainee surgeons during the various stages of their surgical skills training. With a proven track record in delivery of laparoscopic simulation products, and a vertically integrated operating model, Inovus Medical were the natural partner of choice to design, manufacturer and distribute the LapPass kits.
 
The LapPass tasks have been fully integrated with the LapAR high fidelity simulator to allow objective performance tracking of the skills and provide a platform for remote training and certification of the programme. The tasks can also be used with Inovus Medical’s lower and medium fidelity simulators including the Bozzini and Pyxus range.
 
Inovus Medical CEO, Dr Elliot Street, said: 

We are extremely excited to work in collaboration with the ALSGBI as the exclusive designer and manufacturer of the LapPass training kits. The ideals of the LapPass being a validated curriculum with a low cost barrier fits perfectly with our vision of delivering affordable, accessible and functional laparoscopic simulation. I am confident our design of the kit will serve the programme well and we are excited to work with the ALSGBI to help scale the uptake of the curriculum across surgical specialities both here in the UK, and overseas,through our ongoing sales and marketing efforts.

Dr Elliot Street, Inovus Medical CEO

Want to learn more about LapAR, Bozzini and Pyxus simulators? Click on the links below for more information.

Hospitals
Saikat Banerjee, Consultant Gynaecologist and Minimal Access Reproductive Surgeon

Cambridge University Hospitals develops remote surgical training programme using LapAR and Totum

Following the recent acquisition of a further fifteen LapAR simulators by Cambridge University Hospitals, Gynaecologists across the East of England Deanery will be participating in a groundbreaking remote skills training programme. Trainees across the region have been provided with LapAR laparoscopic surgical simulators and access to the Totum digital surgery platform to use for remote skills training.  

The pilot programme will be conducted over a three-month period and aims to assess the impact of remote skills training through objective performance metrics and self-reported confidence scores. The programme will have a phased progression of skills development, starting with the part proxy tasks of LapPass and progressing into full procedure simulations including salpingectomy, salpingostomy and vaginal vault closure, ensuring tasks are aligned to RCOG curriculum. 

The study provides gynaecology trainees with an opportunity to practice and improve their laparoscopic surgical abilities using LapAR simulators in a remote setting, removing bottle necks to traditional approaches to hands on skills training. The comparison of metrics before and after the training program will offer valuable insights into the impact of this approach on trainees’ skill development and proficiency. 

Saikat Banerjee Consultant Gynaecologist and Minimal Access Reproductive Surgeon, CEES-U Cambridge Endometriosis, Ensoscopic Surgery Unit, stated

Having access to the LapAR and Totum platforms gives us a valuable opportunity to enhance simulation training. It offers a realistic and immersive environment for trainees to practice and refine their laparoscopic skills and allow trainers the ability to successfully track their progress.

Saikat Banerjee, Consultant Gynaecologist & Minimal Access Reproductive Surgeon, CEES-U Cambridge Endometriosis, Ensoscopic Surgery Unit

The inclusion of a video review process in Totum, allows faculty to provide subjective commentary and remote certification of tasks, adding another layer of evaluation. The combination of objective metrics and subjective feedback offers a comprehensive evaluation of trainees’ performance during surgical simulations. Consultants can provide detailed insights, observations, and recommendations based on their expertise, further enhancing the training process. 

Clinical Excellence Lead at Inovus Medical, Dr David Rawaf commented 

This is a wonderful opportunity to provide further evidence of Kirkpatrick levels 1 & 2 achievement in this novel approach to simulation training. We will all be looking forward to hearing the outcomes of this study, which looks bolster the construct, content and face validity of the Totum and LapAR Ecosystem.

Dr David Rawaf, Clinical Excellence Lead, Inovus Medical

Want to learn more about LapAR and Totum? Click on the links below for more information.

Partnerships
Donna Ghosh, Chair for Laparoscopic Training at the BSGE

Inovus Medical announce partnership with BSGE to deliver National Laparoscopic Training Programme

Inovus Medical are excited to announce their partnership with the British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) RIGS National Training Programme, which officially launched across the UK this month. The training programme is a standardised distance learning programme, delivered through a combination of online webinars and hands-on workshops. The programme has been rolled out to over 300 gynaecology trainees across 17 sites around the UK and utilises the Inovus medical portfolio of laparoscopic simulators and laparoscopic skills tasks.

The training programme, also supported by Olympus KeyMed, is using the LapAR laparoscopic simulator to provide benchmarking of trainee performance and demonstrate their skills progression through the programme. The LapAR provides objective performance metrics through state-of-the-art instrument tracking technology with performance data stored and accessed on an online learning management system. Cutting edge Augmented Reality (AR) technology offers the BSGE a unique opportunity to deliver wide scale, high fidelity, distance learning.

The recent global pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology in allowing professionals to connect even when separated physically and geographically. The LapAR allows trainers and trainees to be connected in a way never before possible, ensuring high fidelity surgical training can continue in the face of physical, geographical and financial barriers.

Dr Elliot Street, CEO Inovus Medical

The data collected from the LapAR platform will be used to inform future training programmes during the academic year, enhance surgical training provision across the country and improve surgical proficiency for the long term.

There are 3 programme streams (Basic, Intermediate and Advanced) and the content aligns with the requirements of the core Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) curriculum including tasks from the LapPass curriculum which provides validated, academically certified laparoscopic skills training.

Each workshop is facilitated by appointed RIGs regional reps along with a BSGE faculty member within each of the 17 ‘hub sites’. The monthly workshops offer learning opportunities including hands-on skills training, lectures, peer-to-peer training, and completion of OSATS.

The team at Inovus Medical have been instrumental in enabling us to run high-quality laparoscopic training courses in gynaecology. They have been integral partners in the delivery of the BSGE National Training Programme. The surgical technologies they create are of excellent quality and design. The team are always striving to improve their products to make the simulation output as realistic as possible. Their expertise in innovation, combined with their approachability and understanding of the training programme, mean that Inovus Medical are consistently my ‘go-to’ for training support in gynaecology.

Donna Ghosh, Chair for Laparoscopic Training at the BSGE

About the BSGE

The British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy was originally founded in 1989 by a small group of consultant gynaecologists keen to promote the benefits of minimal access surgery for their patients. The society has since grown to over 1000 members drawn from consultants, trainees, specialist nurse practitioners, GP’s and students. However, its ethos and aims remain the same. The BSGE exists not only to serve its members, but also to promote knowledge and understanding of the endoscopic approach to diagnosis and treatment to a wider public, including patients and those responsible for the formulation of healthcare policy. Find out more about BSGE here.

Want to learn more about our partnership with the BSGE, watch our interview with Miss Jessica Preshaw about the BSGE/RIGS programme:

Hospitals
Greg Wynn FRCS, Lead Clinical Director

World famous ICENI centre adopts LapAR and bozzini training systems

Inovus Medical today announced the adoption of its LapAR and bozzini training systems by the world famous ICENI centre, a global pioneer of surgical training, research and development. The announcement follows a competitive tender win for both LapAR and bozzini and highlights the paradigm shift in surgical training that is being driven by the Inovus Medical approach of delivering affordable, accessible and highly functional surgical training solutions.

The ICENI Centre’s first-class facilities provides training to some of the UK’s aspiring NHS employees of the future, today’s undergraduates and clinicians on a career pathway from FY1 through to senior consultants. With the introduction of the very latest in high fidelity laparoscopic and hysteroscopy simulators manufactured and designed by Inovus the centre will now offer trainees the very latest in, hands on, laparoscopic and hysteroscopic training.

The LapAR system opens the ICENI centre up to a brand new world of high fidelity laparoscopic simulation, allowing them to connect with and tutor their trainees like never before. The trainees will also benefit from the industry breaking AR technology, which will immerse them into real to life simulations and allow them to practise full surgical procedures all while being tracked and recorded by the LapAR technology.

As part of the contract the centre has acquired a number of LapAR take home models and so with the distance learning capabilities of the LapAR cloud-based software platform the centre will now be equipped to offer trainees the capability of being able to train from home in a safe environment during the current COVID 19 pandemic.

Greg Wynn FRCS, Lead Clinical Director, ICENI Centre, Colchester said:

We are thrilled to be able to start using the new Inovus augmented reality simulation equipment here at the ICENI Centre in Colchester. Technical skills simulation has always played a key role in the training pathway for our clinicians but being able to objectively measure performance is really important. Putting motion-tracking software in a laparoscopic box trainer will allow us to measure technical performance not just on basic skills exercises, but also on a variety of anatomical models that are relevant to clinical practice. This means learners can map their progress to a defined goal, improving compliance. One of the great features of this equipment is the ability of the trainee to take their box away and practice in an environment that they find most comfortable, whilst their data is remotely uploaded to the trainer’s portal. Organising simulation in this way will allow many more training hours to be completed. This is a valuable addition to our simulation suite

Greg Wynn FRCS, Lead Clinical Director, ICENI Centre, Colchester

Along with the latest in high fidelity laparoscopic simulation the centre has included the purchase of the unique bozzini Hysteroscopy simulators by Inovus Medical which will be used for basic practical skills training within hysteroscopy including tasks such as adhesiolysis and polypectomy. The bozzini systems also allow the trainees to gain valuable camera and basic instrument handling skills.

The bozzini also offers unrivalled high fidelity hysteroscopy training with its range of wet lab models that enable a spectrum of energy and other medical devices to be used in a close to life training experience which includes endometrial ablation, polypectomy and myomectomy.

Dr Elliot Street, Co-Founder and CEO of Inovus Medical said:

The ICENI centre is widely accepted as one of the global pioneers of minimally invasive surgical training and I am delighted they have chosen to adopt our suite of technologies to future proof their position as leaders in this field. This is the start of what I am sure will be an exciting and long-term partnership between the ICENI centre and Inovus Medical as we both look to provide the perfect training solutions for the modern-day surgical trainee.

Dr Elliot Street, Co-Founder and CEO of Inovus Medical

Want to learn more about LapAR and Bozzini? Click on the links below for more information.

Hospitals
Jessica Preshaw, Consultant Gynaecologist

Severn Deanery - Regional MIGS training benefits from the award winning LapAR simulator

Inovus Medical – a global healthcare simulation company – today announced the continued adoption of LapAR, the high fidelity laparoscopic simulator, within the NHS. The LapAR platform has been adopted along with the bozzini Hysteroscopy simulator by North Bristol, NHS Trust and the wider Severn Deanery following a competitive tender process win.

The announcement means trainee gynaecology surgeons across the region will have access to LapAR and bozzini hysteroscopy simulators to further develop their minimally invasive gynaecologic surgery (MIGS) skills and help lead them onto consultant posts when their training is complete.

North Bristol Trust will use the newly acquired LapAR systems to deliver a specialised MIGS programme led by Miss Jessica Preshaw, Consultant Gynaecologist, as part of the Severn Postgraduate Medical Education curriculum.

Miss Preshaw stated: 

An institutional LapAR Pro has now been installed in the Learning and Research Centre at Southmead Hospital within the Simulation Suite. All surgical trainees have access.

Alongside this system, one take home LapAR will be stationed at each of the 6 deanery hospitals within their O&G departments. Every Severn gynaecological trainee will be issued a personal login to the Inovus learning platform. There is also a separate take home LapAR at Southmead that trainees can take home on loan.

This exciting development in conjunction with a new laparoscopic training matrix, and the bozzini hysteroscopy simulator based at Southmead, will boost MIGS training across Severn.

Jessica Preshaw, Consultant Gynaecologist

The adoption emphasises the accessibility and versatility of the Inovus Medical simulators which allows far more trainees to benefit from cutting-edge technology at home in addition to within the Learning and Research Centre.

Elliot Street, CEO Inovus Medical commented:

We are delighted to be supplying our very latest high fidelity simulators to the Severn Region and to be supporting MIGS training and assessment to over sixty trainees spread across a large geographical area. It’s fantastic that with LapAR, connected surgical platform training has become more accessible than ever before, allowing many more trainees to benefit from the latest technology that is helping deliver the very best surgical care to patients.

Elliot Street, CEO Inovus Medical

Hear more from Miss Preshaw on how the Severn Deanery are using the LapAR simulators in her interview with us:

Unsure which simulator will best suit your needs?

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Build your surgical career through purposeful practice, starting with the basics.

Develop your skills and evolve your practice with the all-in-one basic surgical skills base combining natural haptics with near real pathologies.

Basic Surgical Skills Base Features

Incision and suturing

Natural haptics allow you to learn how to dissect soft tissue layers safely. Includes epidermis, dermis, subcutaneous fat and muscle layers. Once dissected, perform a full range of closures with multiple repetitions.

Abscess I&D

Perform an incision and drainage of an abscess and wash out the wound. The soft tissue envelope can be closed or dressed.

Cyst excision

Learn how to dissect and remove a sebaceous cyst. Remove the cyst from surrounding tissue layers and close the wound.

Wide local excision

Practice administering local anaesthetic around the skin lesion. Excise the lesion with highly realistic haptic feedback and tissue layers.

Instrument and hand ties

Get to grips with different types of suture by practicing your hand ties. Master your instrument ties and repeat for perfect practice.

Tying at depth

Perfect your technique for operating at depth. Learn to complete hand ties at depth with the weighted hook providing feedback on your surgical finesse.

An evolving ecosystem connecting practice to procedure.

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Surgeons
The power of hybrid training

Dr Mohamed Mabrouk

Dr Mabrouk, Consultant Gynaecologist, Cambridge, shared with us how the modern demands of surgical training call for increased use of simulation. When searching for the simulation platform best suited to his trainees, he wanted a solution that could be used in the hospital setting and for remote skills training.

“What I like about the LapAR and Totum platform is that it provides training and tutoring opportunities from anywhere, allowing the trainee to review feedback and work on their skills in their own time.”

Dr Mabrouk was looking for a platform that could be used to deliver theoretical knowledge as well as hands on training. He found that Totum was the perfect tool for this. Having used the platform to run an advanced laparoscopic skills course in collaboration with the BSGE. 

The course was a great success as we delivered theoretical knowledge, hands on training and remote tutoring from a single platform.

Dr Mohamed Mabrouk, Consultant Gynaecologist, Cambridge

Want to hear more from Dr Mabrouk? Watch the full interview:

Want to learn more about LapAR and Totum, click on the links below for more information.

Hospitals
Creating a laparoscopic training curriculum

Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust

The surgical teams at Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust wanted to set up a new laparoscopic skills curriculum to provide structured surgical training in their programme. They used the LapAR and Totum to create a hybrid programme that would allow trainees to progress through a combination of in person training and remote learning. Dr Francis Ugwu, Surgical innovation and simulation fellow, remarked:

The programme has been well received by both trainees and trainers.

Dr Francis Ugwu, Surgical Innovation and Simulation Fellow

Read more about LapAR and Totum and how they could guide the way to surgical success for your programme. Click on the links below for more information. 

Medical Device
Partnering to deliver national training programmes

Olympus

The professional education team at Olympus UK were searching for a partner and platform that would allow them to engage surgeons more deeply in their learning pathway. The team wanted a platform that could be used to deliver national training programmes for first year trainees as well as advanced laparoscopic skills courses to senior surgeons. 

Kelly Stacey, head of professional education for Olympus remarked, 

“We utilise the platform to provide pre-learning, followed by hands on skills training. The fact that the simulators produce natural haptics and allow training with real instruments is what sold our faculty on them.”

It was important for Olympus to gain trainee feedback on the programmes and the simulators being used to deliver them. Following each cohort of trainees, the Professional education team collate feedback and present it on the final day of the programme. 

“The trainees are loving using the platform. They love the natural haptics generated by LapAR and the data insights from Totum are unlike anything they have ever had before.”

Olympus continues to utilise the LapAR and Totum to deliver their national training programmes across the UK, in partnership with the BSGE and supported by Inovus Medical. Hear more about this partnership here:

Read more about LapAR and Totum and how they could guide the way to surgical success for your professional education programme. Click on the links below for more information.

Surgeons
Building confidence away from the patient bedside

Dr Jessica Preshaw (on Bozzini)

In response to the impact on hysteroscopy training by the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing shape of care in hysteroscopy, Dr Preshaw has created a regional training programme for MIGS across the Severn Deanery, in which the bozzini hysteroscopy simulator has been placed in all 6 sites across the region.

With a shift towards increased numbers of hysteroscopy cases being performed in the outpatient/ambulatory setting, Dr Preshaw wanted a realistic and scalable solution for delivering hysteroscopy skills training, away from the patient bedside.

There has been a huge shift in our activity from performing hysteroscopy procedures under a general anesthetic to now performing them in our ambulatory suite with the patient awake. The Inovus Medical range of hysteroscopy simulators allow our trainees the ability to build confidence, hone their skills and familiarise themselves with the instruments before performing hysteroscopy procedures on a patient.

Dr Jessica Preshaw, Consultant Gynaecologist

Dr Preshaw wanted a simulator that could serve the full spectrum of training needs, from basic scope handling and practice of placing instruments down the scope, through to full procedural training but ‘without the mess’ of other solutions. 

“What is nice about this is the ability to harness the skills of operative hysteroscopy with the polyps, adhesions and other pathology inserts”.

Want to hear more from Dr Preshaw? Watch the full interview here:

Want to learn more about bozzini, click on the links below for more information.

Trainees
Becoming a safer and more skilful surgeon

Dr Salwa Abdullah Idle

Salwa was looking to find a training platform that would allow her to work on her laparoscopic skills between cases and away from the workplace. She chose the LapAR due to its portability and the options for remote training.

Having a home learning system has allowed me to learn new skills such as laparoscopic suturing. It’s a nice compact box that gives you a good feel for what it is like to be in the OR and actually operating and I feel it has made me a better operator.

Dr Salwa Abdullah Idle

Salwa also wanted a simulator that would allow her to train the full spectrum of laparoscopic skills, from basic instrument handling through to full procedures. 

Salwa shares more insights about the LapAR in her full interview here:

Want to learn more about LapAR, click on the link below for more information.

Medical Device
Distance learning for national training programme

Ethicon

Following disruption to the traditional model of surgical training by the COVID-19 pandemic, the professional education team for Ethicon UK turned to the LapAR and Totum ecosystem to deliver a next generation national training programme.

The team wanted to ensure their trainees could work through a full spectrum of skills, from basic training through to advanced laparoscopic skills training. The integration of the LapPass curriculum with the LapAR allowed Ethicon to deliver a validated curriculum with additional data and surgeon performance insights. The full procedure training of LapAR was then used to progress the training programme into intermediate and advanced skills.

The addition of LapAR to Ethicon’s national training programmes has brought the future of surgical training to today’s trainees.

Mr Fevzi Shakir, Ethicon Faculty member stated:

“The hybrid augmented reality (AR) nature of the system provides an inimitable combination of real feel haptics and performance tracking delivered on a portable box trainer.”

Read more about LapAR and Totum and how they could guide the way to surgical success for your professional education programme. Click on the links below for more information. 

Trainees
Developing advanced laparoscopic skills

Dr Joanna Abiola

Nearing the end of her training, Dr Abiola was searching for a simulator that would allow her to develop and hone her advanced laparoscopic skills. She had a desire to improve her laparoscopic suturing and wanted a simulator that would allow her to do this with real instruments and sutures and provide natural haptic feedback.

The LapAR allowed me to work on my laparoscopic suturing at home and between sessions in the OR.

I am not the most tech savvy person, but the simulator and software was really easy for me to use.

Dr Joanna Abiola

Joanna was worried that a high fidelity simulator may be too complicated for her to use, but was pleased to find that the LapAR was extremely intuitive to set up and use from home and in the hospital setting. 

Joanna shares more insights about the LapAR in her full interview with us here:

Want to learn more about LapAR, click on the link below for more information.

Hospitals
Providing 24/7 access to simulation

Oxford University Hospitals

The Oxford University Hospitals surgical department wanted to provide unrestricted access to laparoscopic simulators for their trainees. The hospital system has three sites across Oxford. Standardising the training experience was essential to provide consistency for all trainees. 

Mr Mike Silva, the training programme director said

The Inovus simulators provide a first, the ability to monitor trainee performance and progress in a structured manner.

Mr Mike Silva, Training Programme Director

Read more about LapAR and Bozzini and how they could guide the way to surgical success for your programme. Click on the links below for more information.