Robot Treats Brain Clots Using Steerable Needles

Robots do come in pretty handy if they are programmed in the right manner and are headed in the correct direction of course, such as the SkySweeper which is 3D printed and intends to help lower the cost of inspecting power lines, while there is also a shark tracking robot that will do its bit to help scientists with a heart for the environment to keep track of the world’s dwindling population of sharks. Well, here we are with yet another interesting robot from researchers who have invented it, being a robot arm system which is capable of reaching deep into the brain so that it can do away with fatal clots through the use of steerable needles.

This is a spanking new image-guided surgical system that is currently being worked on by Vanderbilt University, where it employs steerable needles that are approximately the same size as those used for biopsies, penetrating the brain with minimal damage while helping suction away the blood clot which is within. Thanks to researcher Robert J Webster’s design, it is capable of being steered in different directions without messing around with one’s brain too much – as long as the surgeon controlling it has steady hands and knows what he is doing.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Medical, Robots
Tags: surgery