Development of magnetic anchoring and guidance systems for minimally invasive surgery.

Recent advances in urology have included natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) and laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS). These techniques seek to minimize morbidity by reducing the number of transabdominal port sites, but this comes at a cost of decreased instrument agility and other technical challenges that have prevented LESS and NOTES from entering mainstream urologic practice. Magnetic anchoring and guidance systems (MAGS) consist of instruments that are inserted laparoscopically through an entry in the peritoneal cavity at one point and then driven into position elsewhere and controlled with magnets. These instruments improve the ergonomics of minimally invasive surgery and may help make LESS and NOTES more accessible to urologists across experience levels.