• The spin-off company Swan Medical SL, of which the IGTP is a shareholder, is responsible for production and distribution
• The product, baptised Rutilight®, can be adapted to all current surgical instruments to provide a spotlight on the operating area
• The new device eliminates shadows in the operating area and illuminates places that are difficult to access
• The tool has been invented by surgeons for surgeons
Many surgeons complain of problems or difficulties during operations. Doctors Joan Francesc Julián and Jordi Navines are no exception. During their work in the General and Digestive Surgery Department at the Germans Trias Hospital and as researchers in the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) they came up with Rutilight®, a localized light source that can be attached to surgical instruments, to solve the problem. The device has been developed through the spin-off company Swan Medical SL.
“There are often blind spots and shadows, that cannot be resolved with the theatre lighting or even the headlights or separators that we usually use,” explains Dr Julián. “With Rutilight®, we can resolve them, because the light is closer and basically it focusses the light exactly where we are working.”
The fact that the light is mounted on the instrument means that there are no shadows and it makes it easy to light deep areas or those where it is very difficult to see. “This makes the work of the surgeons easier and lets them avoid possible complications,” he adds.
A simple, yet efficient idea
The idea is as easy as it is efficient, it adapts to the surgical instrument simply and quickly, attaching to the tool as if it were the adaptor for the pencil in a compass. It is sterile and disposable, made from elastic silicon, which means it adjusts to any surgical instrument of between 5 and 12 mm diameter.
“This includes scalpels, electric scalpels, clips, aspirators, scissors or tubes and it adapts to energy sources for parenchymal or tissues transections,” explains Julián. A ring of LEDs provide the light, which focusses the beam on the point of work with an optimal temperature and colour of light.
The versatility of the product makes it useful for a wide range of surgical specialities including: general digestive, thoracic, gynaecological, paediatric, breast disease, traumatology, urology and plastic surgery, amongst others.
From an idea to the market
Rutilight® is a system by surgeons for surgeons, the gold standard of innovation and technology transfer. The arrival of the product on the market closes the circle from the idea to the operating table, truly bench to bedside.
The project has been developed with the help of the Innovation Unit of the IGTP. The initial boost came from a LLAVOR grant, in the first call issued by the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) in 2014 for innovative projects with market potential. The grant and co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allowed for evaluation for potential for production, a technical and commercial viability study, patent and proof of concept studies.
A new company is born
The project quickly attracted the attention of Cardiolink SL, who participated in the founding of a spin-off company with the doctor-researchers of Germans Trias Hospital, who had the initial idea, and the IGTP. The new company is Swan Medical SL, which has been working intensively for the last two years to launch Rutilight® in the next few weeks.
At the end of January Swan Medical SL will present the product at Arab Health in Dubai, one of the most prestigious international medical trade fairs. The company will have a stand and will be selecting international distributors. In Spain the product will be commercialized by Cardiolink SL.
About the institutions
The Germans Trias Hospital is a public centre located on the Campus Can Ruti. It provides complex healthcare to the 800,000 inhabitants of the Northern Metropolitan Territory of Barcelona and Maresme, as well as patients from other territories for certain conditions, making it a reference centre for 1,200,000 inhabitants. The hospital and the Primary care for the area are both managed by Northern Metropolitan Territory Management of the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS).
The Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) is a Catalan public research centre dedicated to improving health through scientific knowledge and its transfer. It is an accredited centre of excellence of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the umbrella organization for research activity of the Germans Trias Hospital. It is on the Campus Can Ruti in Badalona, where it is closely connected to the other research institutions there: The Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), Guttmann Institute, Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Fight Aids Foundation, Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies on STI and HIV/AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT).
