search articles:     from the issue of September 8, 2005         UNL, UNMC create surgical tool A prototype surgical tool designed by Susan Hallbeck - an associate professor in industrial design at UNL - and a team of undergraduate and graduate engineering students, in collaboration with physicians at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, promises to be better than current models.     Hallbeck Called the Intuitool, it's an articulated grasping tool that can be used by surgeons performing minimally invasive surgeries. Often called laparoscopic or keyhole surgery, minimally invasive surgery is done through small incisions. Using specialized techniques and tools, miniature cameras with microscopes, tiny fiber-optic flashlights and high definition monitors, surgeons are able to perform a growing number of operations using the technique. The breakthrough in the Intuitool is in the articulation function - the grasper end rotates up to 120 degrees, side to side, using a roller ball the surgeon actuates with his or her thumb. "Essentially, the Intuitool gives you a wrist on the tool," she said. The Intuitool, patented and trademarked by UNL, has been licensed to the Minneapolis-based Gyrus Medical to develop, manufacture and market. Federal approval to use Intuitool in humans is pending. GO TO: ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 8 NEWS HEADLINES FOR SEPTEMBER 8 Kooser's verse draws accolades External research dollars hit record level Year in Review $2 million grant puts UNL into international physics experiment Headlines tout campus successes IANR scientists in top-20 worldwide for article citations iDiverse to develop stress resistant crops ITLE grants bolster teaching Master plan moves closer to completion Rankings place UNL among America's best - Academic workplace in top 10 Rankings place UNL among America's best - University rates in top 50 nationwide Rural poll marks decade of insight Scientists break into Discover's top 100 list Soy oil research helps shape food allergen labeling rules Team wins $3 million DoD grant Undergrads experience research firsthand UNL heads back to Antarctica UNL, UNMC create surgical tool 732197S34907X