Future Prospects of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection from the Product Development Standpoint

Abstract

Studies have been made into techniques for the minimally invasive treatment of early-stage mucosal lesions in the digestive tract. In the endoscopic field, various studies continue, primarily in Japan. One example is the development of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), which has the potential to replace surgical operations. In particular, the endoscopic minimally invasive treatment of early-stage gastric mucosal lesions has steadily improved. It has emerged from its developmental phase and entered its practical phase. Olympus Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan, has developed and marketed the IT knife, the IT knife 2, the flex knife, the hook knife, the triangle knife, and hemostatic forceps. This chapter describes how effective the ESD is by describing the features of the products listed above, and discusses the future of the therapy from the standpoint of an engineer.