Hand-held tools or implements used by health professionals for the performance of surgical tasks.

A tough, malleable, iron-based alloy containing up to, but no more than, two percent carbon and often other metals. It is used in medicine and dentistry in implants and instrumentation.

The destroying of all forms of life, especially microorganisms, by heat, chemical, or other means.

Time period from 1501 through 1600 of the common era.

The presence of an infectious agent on instruments, prostheses, or other inanimate articles.

The removal of contaminating material, such as radioactive materials, biological materials, or CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS, from a person or object.

Rendering pathogens harmless through the use of heat, antiseptics, antibacterial agents, etc.

Stainless steel. A steel containing Ni, Cr, or both. It does not tarnish on exposure and is used in corrosive environments. (Grant & Hack's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

The prevention of access by infecting organisms to the locus of potential infection.

Time period from 1601 through 1700 of the common era.

Surgical procedures conducted with the aid of computers. This is most frequently used in orthopedic and laparoscopic surgery for implant placement and instrument guidance. Image-guided surgery interactively combines prior CT scans or MRI images with real-time video.

ENDOSCOPES for examining the abdominal and pelvic organs in the peritoneal cavity.

Methods of creating machines and devices.

A rare transmissible encephalopathy most prevalent between the ages of 50 and 70 years. Affected individuals may present with sleep disturbances, personality changes, ATAXIA; APHASIA, visual loss, weakness, muscle atrophy, MYOCLONUS, progressive dementia, and death within one year of disease onset. A familial form exhibiting autosomal dominant inheritance and a new variant CJD (potentially associated with ENCEPHALOPATHY, BOVINE SPONGIFORM) have been described. Pathological features include prominent cerebellar and cerebral cortical spongiform degeneration and the presence of PRIONS. (From N Engl J Med, 1998 Dec 31;339(27))

The performance of surgical procedures with the aid of a microscope.

Small proteinaceous infectious particles which resist inactivation by procedures that modify NUCLEIC ACIDS and contain an abnormal isoform of a cellular protein which is a major and necessary component. The abnormal (scrapie) isoform is PrPSc (PRPSC PROTEINS) and the cellular isoform PrPC (PRPC PROTEINS). The primary amino acid sequence of the two isoforms is identical. Human diseases caused by prions include CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB SYNDROME; GERSTMANN-STRAUSSLER SYNDROME; and INSOMNIA, FATAL FAMILIAL.

Procedures that avoid use of open, invasive surgery in favor of closed or local surgery. These generally involve use of laparoscopic devices and remote-control manipulation of instruments with indirect observation of the surgical field through an endoscope or similar device.

Hand-held tools or implements especially used by dental professionals for the performance of clinical tasks.

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.