EndoCAS, center of excellence of University of Pisa, belongs to Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina e Chirurgia. EndoCAS encompasses two divisions, EndoCAS Research and EndoCAS Education, was established on funds provided by the Italian Ministry of Education, Instruction and Research (MIUR) and Regional Health Service of Tuscany (Regione Toscana), with the construction of the EndoCAS Center being completed in 2005. It is situated within the grounds of Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (AOUP).
The research workforce of EndoCAS is multidisciplinary, including: engineers, computer scientists and software engineers, economists, physicians, most of whom are surgeons and radiologists.
In 2009, a signed agreement between University of Pisa and AOUP led to the establishment of EndoCAS for scientific research, education and training of medical and paramedical personnel. EndoCAS research activities are carried out on grant funding from various bodies: European Union (FP 7) Italian Ministry of Health, and Regione Toscana.
The mission of EndoCAS is to become a leading center in Italy for training of residents, surgeons, and medical students through simulation of minimally invasive surgical procedures.
EndoCAS is supported also by Fondazione Arpa, a no-profit foundation whose Honorary President is the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.