In the Cannes: 3D printing creates new future for surgery

Inventor Alex Berry and UK heart surgeon Richard Trimlett are using the 3D technology to slash design and production costs, making what Trimlett describes as, "a quantum leap in medical research".

The pair unveiled their automated suturing tool, Sutrue, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June. Sutrue is held like a pen and holds a standard curved surgical needle within a tiny sets of rollers and gears which rotate the needle.

Suturing is currently carried out by hand, with forceps used to pick up the needle after every stitch. Sutrue dispenses with the need for forceps, reducing the risk of infection by speeding up the stitching process. There are also implications for robotic surgery - the pair are in negotiation with the European Space Agency over the terms of a research agreement.

"Sutrue allows us to do something we can already do, but do it better and will also enable us to perform new keyhole robotic procedures that would be impossible by hand," said Trimlett, of the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK.

"Sutrue allows wounds to be closed with consistency and accuracy. There are places, such as field hospitals and war zones, where you don't have the luxury of time and have to suture with a degree of haste. You reduce the risk of infection by closing the wound more quickly.

"Sutrue also opens the way for the high end of keyhole robotics. We are currently quite limited in terms of being able to safely stich inside the body because of the difficulty of complex stitching by hand. With Sutrue we will be able to carry out new procedures robotically.

"The possibilities are almost limitless with these technologies and robotics. You will be able to have a remote virtual presence through force feedback which gives the user the sensation of touch. When you can't feel things it slows you down. Force feedback is important, which is why we have the European Space Agency as a partner."

The surgeon said that being able to share work on 3D CAD design files with Berry eliminated lengthy and expensive design processes and "suddenly made the development stage instantaneous". The use of 3D printing has also brought costs of production down from an estimated £3.5million to around £50,000.