The connection of some medical disciplines with technology is evident today. It plays a crucial role, for example, in gastrointestinal endoscopy, which is undergoing great development thanks to new technologies. Every researcher active in different medical disciplines has ideas about how the current procedures could be improved or has ideas about new procedures. New procedures are developed and put into clinical practice together with industry.

The rapid development of medicine brings completely new challenges and requires cooperation between the medical and technological world. Some fields of medicine are entirely dependent on technology, specifically medical devices used to perform procedures. Almost every new procedure requires a specific instrument to be developed in order for the procedure to be carried out effectively and safely. Most new techniques and instruments also require the development of specific medical training models and platforms. Tight connections between researchers and developers is crucial. One of the examples is the development of an endoscopically implantable neurostimulator for the treatment of gastroparesis and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The development of such novel solutions requires direct cooperation between medicine and material engineering due to biocompatibility requirements, hardware development, and software development. The use of new technologies (e.g. sensors and actuators) can also open new fields of medicine, which would be inaccessible with the current technological state-of-the-art.

This Special Issue invites researchers to submit research articles and reviews on this topic. This gives an opportunity to publish ideas, albeit in concept stage or prototype stage, and creates a unique platform to fuel further development in the field. We are particularly interested in articles based on cooperation between the medical field and technology resulting in a prototype successfully tested in an animal model. Concepts, ideas to use current devices differently or reviews related to the field are also welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Development of active implantable medical devices
• Development of systems for personalized medicine in GI tract (i.e. controlled drug delivery systems)
• New mechanical tools for endoscopy and laparoscopy
• Novel energy-delivering instruments (utilizing i.e. radio frequency ablation, laser)
• Novel technological advancements in third space endoscopy
• Implantable sensors in GI tract
• Novel uses of current diagnostic methods (i.e. IDUS)
• New tools for imaging or processing of data coming from imaging tools (e.g. ultrasound and RTG)
• New therapeutic methods based on interdisciplinary cooperation
• Testing of aforementioned technology in animal models
• Development of medical training models and platforms