Automated Detection of Heterogeneity in Medical Tactile Images.

Artificial tactile sensing is a capability important for many applications and, in particular, for endoscopic surgery. A recently developed Medical Tactile Endosurgical Complex (MTEC) that is a certified and commercially available product is an efficient tool that provides such a capability. Currently the analysis of intraoperative tactile images that are registered and visualized by MTEC is performed manually by a surgeon.

Haptic device in endoscopy.

Access to organs and tissues is limited during endoscopy. Information about mechanical properties of tissues received during an operation is a key factor for deciding the scale of surgery and further treatment strategy. A new device developed at Lomonosov Moscow State University determines the visco-elastic properties of tissues and presents them in a digital form as a visual image and a tactile sense for the surgeon.

[Surgical treatment of cancer of the extrahepatic bile ducts].

The authors present the 12 years' experience with the treatment of hepatocholedochal cancer (cancer of the supraduodenal end of the common bile duct and of the common hepatic duct included). 22 patients were operated upon. The authors managed to perform radical operations upon 5 out of 22 patients, when there were small tumors of the hepato-choledochus.

[So-called "white bile" (clinico-experimental study)].

Based on clinical (37 cases of "white bile") and experimental (20 experiments) findings obtained by the authors, the characteristic of the so-called "white bile", observed in mechanic jaundice of various etiology, is given. It is pointed out that "white-bile" is the secretion of bile ducts and gallbladder mucous membrane--a colorless liquid, this secretion is permanently excreted and is a constant ingradient of colored bile while obturation of bile outflow ducts contributed only to its accumulation and detection.