For those most severely affected, treating epilepsy means drilling through the skull deep into the brain to destroy the small area where the seizures originate – invasive, dangerous and with a long recovery period.
Five years ago, a team of Vanderbilt engineers wondered: Is it possible to address epileptic seizures in a less invasive way? They decided it would be possible. Because the area of the brain involved is the hippocampus, which is located at the bottom of the brain, they could develop a robotic device that pokes through the cheek and enters the brain from underneath which avoids having to drill through the skull and is much closer to the target area.
To do so, however, meant developing a shape-memory alloy needle that can be precisely steered along a curving path and a robotic platform that can operate inside the powerful magnetic field created by an MRI scanner.
The engineers have developed a working prototype, which was unveiled in a live demonstration this week at the Fluid Power Innovation and Research Conference in Nashville by David Comber, the graduate student in mechanical engineering who did much of the design work.
The business end of the device is a 1.14 mm nickel-titanium needle that operates like a mechanical pencil, with concentric tubes, some of which are curved, that allow the tip to follow a curved path into the brain. (Unlike many common metals, nickel-titanium is compatible with MRIs). Using compressed air, a robotic platform controllably steers and advances the needle segments a millimeter at a time.
According to Comber, they have measured the accuracy of the system in the lab and found that it is better than 1.18 mm, which is considered sufficient for such an operation. In addition, the needle is inserted in tiny, millimeter steps so the surgeon can track its position by taking successive MRI scans.
According to Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Eric Barth, who headed the project, the next stage in the surgical robot’s development is testing it with cadavers. He estimates it could be in operating rooms within the next decade.
The Latest on: Robotic brain surgery
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Robotic brain surgery” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Robotic brain surgery
- CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rateon April 25, 2024 at 9:13 am
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains ...
- Medtech Marvels: 3 Groundbreaking Medical Device Stocks to Watch in 2024on April 25, 2024 at 3:00 am
The value of the “global medical device market” is expected to jump from over $500 billion last year to nearly $800 billion “by 2030.” According to the World Health Organization, “a medical device can ...
- First robotic kidney transplant surgery in Qatar successfully performed by Hamad Medical Corporationon April 24, 2024 at 9:40 am
The surgical procedure was successfully performed using the Da Vinci robot and took only two and a half hours.
- HMC Succeeds In Performing First Robotic Kidney Transplant In Qataron April 24, 2024 at 6:00 am
Hamad Medical Corporation succeeded in performing the first robotic kidney transplant surgery in Qatar for a patie ...
- MIT Technology Reviewon April 19, 2024 at 3:00 am
In the world of brain-computer interfaces, it can seem as if one company sucks up all the oxygen in the room. Last month, Neuralink posted a video to X showing the first human subject to receive its ...
- Brain chip development occurs at the expense of disabled peopleon April 17, 2024 at 7:16 pm
Additionally, the company has not positioned their BCIs to complement traditional and low-cost support systems or accommodations available to quadriplegic people, such as accessible public ...
- Revolutionary procedure for hearing impaired comes to Texomaon April 11, 2024 at 4:49 pm
Being the first provider to offer a medical service is something many in the healthcare field aspire to. Now, one office in Texoma has achieved that lofty goal.
- Forget Neuralink: This less invasive brain implant company is recruiting trial participantson April 11, 2024 at 8:34 am
Even though brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are still an emerging part of neurotechnology, Neuralink, Elon Musk's BCI startup, has dominated headlines about the space. But rival company Synchron is ...
- City hosp uses AI for knee surgeryon April 10, 2024 at 4:03 pm
Kolkata: Doctors at Medica Hospitalconducted an AI (Artificial Intelligence) powered HoloLens surgery on a 50-year-old woman who needed knee replaceme.
- Why don't we have AI-powered robot butlers yet? An investigation.on March 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The robot doesn't walk, and sticks to a narrow ... robots would be performing brain surgery on their own in no time. However, he wrote, "it has become clear that it is comparatively easy to ...
via Bing News