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Robotics Aid In Blood Clot Detection
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Robotics
Researchers and surgeons at Vanderbilt University have incorporated “robot-based steerable needles” into its medical imaging technology as a way to operate on the brain to remove potentially deadly blood clots. The procedure causes minimal damage and is minimally invasive.
The procedure has been utilized for several years and is a part of a trans-nasal surgical procedure that the surgical research team developed. The ability to remove tumors in the pituitary gland and at the base of the skull, with this technology, removes the need for the traditional surgical procedure that involved cutting into the patient’s skull or face.
The system, which is called an “active cannula” is comprised of “thin, nested tubes that each have a different intrinsic curvature.” Surgeons have the ability to extend, retract and rotate the tubes during the procedure and the robotic technology provides the surgeon a view of the path the steerable needle is taking.
To utilize the technique, the blood clot is first located through the taking of a CT scan and once the position has been determined the surgeon will choose the best route of entry at the base of the patient’s skull and will then insert the probe. The equipment also utilizes a fixture called the trajectory system that determines the angle at which the needle will move.
The robotic device is then positioned in a way that the needle will be inserted into a tube, into the trajectory stem and into the brain. The surgeon will then choose a smaller tube that best aligns with the curvature and through the guidance of the CT scan image the robot will further insert the tube, a pump is turned on and the blood is sucked out of the cloth. Once the blood has been removed, the robot will extend and retract the tubes and remove the clot. A more than 90% accuracy rate was achieved during the course of the study and practice.
Universe Optics manufactures devices used in endoscope couplers, fiberscope couplers, diagnostic camera hand pieces, and medical X-ray scanning.