Surgery requires incredible exactness, especially when you’re drilling a hole in the base of a patient’s skull. To help with such tasks, TU/e researchers developed a robot with sub-millimeter precision.
A variety of circumstances utilize skull drilling, ranging from infection treatment to inserting hearing implants. However, sensitive regions surround this portion of the head, including vital facial nerves and the inner ear.
The advanced robotic arm, known as the RoBoSculpt, was designed to take over parts of this delicate procedure. A surgeon feeds the bot instructions by indicating on skull CT images, which section of bone the robot has to remove.
At its core, the system is an advance computer-controlled milling machine sporting seven axes of motion. Studies suggest the robot will expedite procedure time, shorten the recovery process, and result in fewer complications.
Although the robot shows considerable benefits, research leader Jordan Bos does not believe it can carry out other operations at this time.
“The design of this robot is only applicable to precision applications for hard structures in the human body, specifically bones. Soft tissue cannot be fixed with enough precision,” says Bos.
Bos developed the robot at the request of Radboud UMC skull base surgeon Dirk Kunst.
“This is an important step toward the operating room of the future. RoBoSculpt is an optimal collaboration between the surgeon and the machine; they really complement each other to achieve the best results for the patient,” says Kunst.
This year, Radboud UMC will host the RoBoSculpt’s first pre-clinical trials, and its first surgery is expected to occur with the next five years.