Robot Performs Brain Surgery Via Patient’s Cheek

Yes, we have read about a robot that can help combat malaria, with the potential for robots to provide a brighter future in the fight against the ebola virus, but here we are with a robot which is capable of performing brain surgery – through a very different means. This particular robot will go about its duty through the patient’s cheek, now how about that? Not just any brain surgery in general, but to make its way around corrective epilepsy brain surgery in particular, and doing so with a far lower risk than the normal method, not to mention in a less invasive manner.

This particular robot is a labor of love that is five years in the making, thanks to the researchers over at Vanderbilt University. In fact, the robot’s prowess at this particular surgery could help lower the overall time required for the surgery, all the while paving the way for a shorter recovery time in the patient.

Developed by mechanical engineering graduate student David Comber and mechanical engineering associate professor Eric Barth, this robot will enter the brain from underneath as it makes its way through the patient’s cheek. Having said that, it will negotiate the various gaps in the bone, which is a far shorter route, as well as keeping the skull intact. It is a working prototype at the moment, and is capable of operating from inside an MRI machine. Such advancements in the field of medical science are truly a wonder, don’t you think so?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Medical, Robots
Tags: surgery