Medical instruments refer to devices that are used in the field of medicine to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of patients. Depending on the function, instruments can broadly be labeled as diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutic instruments and equipment. Diagnostic equipment assists the medic in arriving at a diagnosis. They include radiological equipment such as CT scans, MRIs, X- ray machines and ultrasound. Medical laboratory equipments are also included in this category. Examples are microscopes and analyzer of different kinds which help in processing of samples from patients. Monitoring equipments are used to keep track of the patient?s progress in the course of the hospital stay. Bedside monitors keep track of a patient?s vital signs and raise an alarm if any dangerous deviations from the normal are noted. Glucose monitoring kits, lung function monitoring kits are other examples of monitoring equipment. Other instruments are directly involved in the treatment process of the patient. They include surgical instruments which are used during surgery and radiation equipment which are used to deliver doses of radiation to specific parts of the body.

Surgical Mesh

Surgical Mesh and Laparoscopy

Trocar

In its simplest form, a trocar is a pen-shaped instrument with a sharp triangular point at one end, typically used inside a hollow tube, known as a cannula or sleeve, to create an opening into the body through which the sleeve may be introduced, to provide an access port during surgery. The tip design of trocar instrumentation is something that is constantly evolving. The materials, edge design and transparency are factors that may facilitate placement inside the abdominal or thoracic cavity.

Needle Driver

Needle drivers, or needle holders, are used to grasp and manipulate needles to enable free-hand suturing of wounds or surgical incisions within the body during laparoscopic procedures. Surgical needle drivers have been in widespread use for little over a century. Prior to this, needles were large enough to be manipulated by hand, and any instruments that were developed to assist with suturing often had more in common with the tools of tailors, sail-makers or leatherworkers than with the surgical instruments of today.

Laparoscope

Analog medical cameras have been available since the mid-1970s, but were initially very heavy and could not be disinfected, limiting their usefulness in surgical applications. A major breakthrough occurred in 1982, when the first solid-state medical camera was introduced. Based around a silicon chip called a charge-coupled device (CCD), these digital cameras were lightweight, sterilisable, and offered improved color stability. CCDs are now commonly found in many consumer products including digital cameras and webcams. They consist of a silicon chip covered in image sensors, known as pixels, which convert incoming light energy from a visual scene into a digital signal that can be stored, processed or transmitted with greater efficiency and reliability than its analog equivalent. Today, a typical laparoscopy system consists of four main components: One or more digital cameras, a light source, a monitor and the scope itself.