The COVID-19 pandemic is having a detrimental impact on substance use, mental health and weight-related health behaviours among people living with obesity, according to a study by researchers at UT Southwestern and the UTHealth School of Public Health.

The first patient has been dosed in its pivotal phase 3 trial of apraglutide in short bowel syndrome (SBS). Apraglutide is an investigational drug being developed as a once-weekly treatment for patients who have SBS with intestinal failure (SBS-IF). It is a next-generation, long-acting, potent, synthetic GLP-2 analog that acts as a selective, full agonist of the GLP-2 receptor.

Karl Storz Endoscopy-America has launched the IMAGE1 S Rubina multimode visualisation system that combines state-of-the-art 4K resolution with enhanced fluorescence-guided imaging using near-infrared light and indocyanine green dye (NIR/ICG). The system uses unique and proprietary dual-4K sensors and dual-LED light technology to toggle seamlessly between white-light and fluorescence modes, without the lag or mismatched frames that are common with alternative technologies.

Chilean researchers have initiated a randomised clinical trial (RCT) to assess the effects of two types of exercise - moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) - on body composition, cardiopulmonary function and perceived quality of life in bariatric surgery patients. An outline of the study was featured in the paper, ‘Effect of physical exercise in bariatric surgery patients: protocol of a randomized controlled clinical trial’, published in BMC Trials.

TransEnterix has received CE Mark approval for the Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU) that enables machine vision capabilities on the Senhance Surgical System. This approval will provide Senhance digital laparoscopic programs in Europe access to this new technology, ushering them to the forefront of surgical innovation utilising augmented intelligence.