ENvue Drive demonstrates insertion of a feeding tube right into a affected person. | Supply: ENvue Medical
ENvue Medical Inc. not too long ago unveiled ENvue Drive, its robotic-assisted software for routinely putting feeding tubes. The software is constructed on the corporate’s electromagnetic navigation platform ecosystem, and is designed to combine synthetic intelligence, real-time navigation, and robotic-assisted procedural execution right into a unified medical workflow.
Annually, over one million feeding tubes are inserted into sufferers within the U.S. “It may be in vital care sufferers — meaning aged sufferers, grownup sufferers, and all the way in which right down to pediatrics and pre-term infants,” Dr. Doron Besser, CEO of ENvue Medical, instructed The Robotic Report.
More often than not, feeding tubes are positioned blindly. This implies the tube is inserted by means of the nostril, and the individual performing the process has to depend on their expertise, and any resistance then really feel whereas inserting, to get it proper.
These procedures are at all times prescribed by a physician, however they could possibly be carried out by nurses and dietitians, as properly, mentioned Besser.
“About 3% to five% of all these procedures are misplaced, they usually land within the lungs,” he mentioned. “If that happens, it creates a cascade of issues. It will possibly trigger lung collapse. Generally, one even leaves the feeding tube throughout the lungs, and it fills up the lung with fluid vitamins.”
Besser mentioned the entire idea behind ENvue’s system was to make the process safer for sufferers, simpler for the clinician, and cheaper for hospitals.
How does ENvue Drive work?
ENvue is constructing ENvue Drive on prime of its 510(ok) FDA-cleared ENvue Navigation Platform. This platform is at present utilized in hospitals throughout the USA to offer real-time electromagnetic steering throughout enteral feeding tube placement. ENvue Drive takes this a step additional, by having a robotic insert the feeding tube itself.
ENvue’s system features a sensor on the finish of the feeding tube, which supplies physicians visibility whereas putting the tube. It additionally integrates the corporate’s AI navigation software program, Ask Oscar.
“When one inserts that feeding tube with that sensor throughout the discipline of electromagnetic waves, which covers all the affected person’s chest and stomach, it turns into aligned,” Besser defined. “It’s activated, and meaning with any motion, regardless of wherein route, in 360Âş, the place is calculated by our system and offered on display screen.”
He added that ENvue developed this sensor in-house. “One of the necessary issues with electromagnetic navigation programs is that the sensors should have a really, very excessive refresh charge,” mentioned Besser. “With ours, it’s about 40 occasions per second. Why is that necessary? As a result of if the clinician inserts that feeding tube, you need to see a right away response on the display screen, so there’s no delay.”
As soon as contained in the affected person, the system strikes in 5 levels of freedom, giving the clinician extra flexibility when performing the process.
“Our system supplies steering instructions. In different phrases, the clinician will at all times know wherein route is the feeding tube pointing,” Besser mentioned. “That’s essential as a result of what we’ve achieved now could be now we have offered a GPS-like system, like Google Maps or Waze.”
ENvue should account for affected person actions
With this newest demonstration, ENvue confirmed its system can establish anatomical pathways, detect trajectory deviations, present corrective steering, and help development to a goal place throughout the small gut, underneath clinician supervision.
There are some distinctive challenges that include feeding tube placements. One of many greatest ones is the unpredictability of the affected person themselves.
“Even closely sedated sufferers, even mechanically ventilated sufferers, can transfer through the process. No one likes to have a feeding tube inserted,” Besser mentioned. “The nurse has to give attention to the affected person, calm the affected person, and insert the feeding tube.”
To account for this, ENvue makes use of extra ECG sensors positioned on the sufferers physique. “If the affected person strikes through the process, will get upright or barely uncalm, the system will at all times keep correct,” Besser mentioned.
Clinicians keep in command of all the process
When creating ENvue Drive, Besser mentioned the crew wished to ensure it was creating an easy-to-use software with clear directions.
“Nurses and dietitians are underneath colossal quantities of stress,” he famous. “They’re drained. All people’s understaffed, and we need to help the consumer when she or he does a process to do it step-by-step.”
In the course of the process, if the system detects the tube is nearing an space it shouldn’t be, it alerts the consumer and provides suggestions for proceed. The individual performing the process is at all times in cost and in the end tells the system what to do subsequent.
“We don’t need robots to take over from the clinicians,” mentioned Besser. “We wish the robotic arm to help, to offer extra confidence, to facilitate the procedures, whereas having the clinician, who’s extremely succesful and is very provisioned, nonetheless preserve management of the system.”
Save the date for RoboBusiness 2026ENvue hopes to carry robotics to extra bedside procedures
Besser mentioned lots of healthcare robotics have began with extremely subtle, OR-based procedures, like orthopedic surgical procedures or spinal surgical procedures. Easier, bedside procedures, nonetheless, are far more widespread. As robotics have gotten inexpensive to supply, these procedures have gotten extra sensible to automate.
“Step one, naturally, could be inside feeding. The subsequent step could be vascular entry, and that particularly could be peripherally inserted central catheters,” Besser mentioned. Annually, thousands and thousands of catheters are inserted into the arm, and should be precisely positioned to succeed in the 12 months to manage drugs.
By built-in chest X-rays into the corporate’s system, ENvue mentioned it hopes to create a robotic that would automate these procedures.
Proper now, the core know-how behind ENvue Drive is already 510(ok) FDA-cleared. ENvue plans to pursue extra clearances for ENvue Drive within the coming years.
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