Robot uses steerable needles to treat brain clots
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVeTfUozakc[/embed]
Posted on 13/10/2015
Brain clots, the major cause of death in brain surgery, could be treated by steerable needle. This is a new image-guided surgical system using steerable needles to penetrate the brain with minimal damage and remove the blood clot that has formed. Traditionally, neurosurgeons take a watchful waiting approach when detecting a clot in the brain because the benefit of removing a clot can be offset by the damage that is done to the surrounding tissue. Therefore, it is not worth to eliminate the whole clot and the doctor only decrease the swelling around the clot by drugs. However, the invention of steerable needle system reach deeply into the brain removes clots in a safer way. An active cannula, consists of a series of thin tubes, is the most crucial component in this robot. By precisely rotating, an operator can steer the tip in different directions that allow it to follow a curving path through the body. In addition, the brain-clot system needs only two tubes to remove 92 percent of clots in brain. Guided by the CT scan, the robot can even reach the exact position you want to clean up the clot. Nevertheless, the problem is that after removing the clot, external pressure can lead to the edges of the clot to collapse and the clot’s boundaries to deform.
[caption id=”attachment_26” align=”alignnone” width=”250”]
Steerable needle robot[/caption]
Comment: As the increasing amount of population ages and intracerebral hemorrhages patients, this novel technology can save a lot of lives. It reduces the risk of brain surgery and improves the survival rate. With the steerable needle system, robots can conduct surgery more accuracy and enhance the ratio of taking out the clot in stead of damaging surrounding cells. Although there are several disadvantages of this device, the ultimate goal is to remove the clot safely and effectively.
Reference: