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Modular robotic platform for precision neurosurgery with a bio-inspired needle: System overview and first in-vivo deployment

2022; Public Library of Science; Volume: 17; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pone.0275686

1932-6203

Riccardo Secoli, Eloise Matheson, Marlene Pinzi, Stefano Galvan, Abdulhamit Donder, Thomas Watts, Marco Riva, Davide Danilo Zani, Lorenzo Bello, Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena,

Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence

Over the past 10 years, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has shown significant benefits compared to conventional surgical techniques, with reduced trauma, shorter hospital stays, and shorter patient recovery times. In neurosurgical MIS procedures, inserting a straight tool (e.g. catheter) is common practice in applications ranging from biopsy and laser ablation, to drug delivery and fluid evacuation. How to handle tissue deformation, target migration and access to deep-seated anatomical structures remain an open challenge, affecting both the preoperative planning phase and eventual surgical intervention. Here, we present the first neurosurgical platform in the literature, able to deliver an implantable steerable needle for a range of diagnostic and therapeutic applications, with a short-term focus on localised drug delivery. This work presents the system’s architecture and first in vivo deployment with an optimised surgical workflow designed for pre-clinical trials with the ovine model, which demonstrate appropriate function and safe implantation.