Pair of endoscopic grabbing forceps for use with endoscopes and laparascopes by Wolf, West Germany

Endoscopes or laparascopes are long thin instruments with a camera, gving healthcare teams views of the inside of a person's body. Flexible, long, forceps like this one, can be passed down the endoscope to be used for treatment or to help with a diagnosis.

This cable was owned by Mr John Wickham (1927-2017), who specialised in urology and was one of the first cohort in the United Kingdom to carry out and champion keyhole surgery for its patient and surgeon benefits. He coined the phrase minimally invasive surgery and set up the Society of Minimally Invasive Therapy in 1989. Since 2000, SMIT is the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology and continues to bring together surgeons, medics, engineers and medical device developers. John was also among the first to used robotic assisted surgery in his work and introduced shock wave therapy for kidney stones to the United Kingdom.