Release date: 2016-04-20
Removing brain tumors is a highly demanding task. If the surgery is biased, brain damage, motor dysfunction, and serious or even loss of vital organs may occur. In order to make this work more precise, a smart scalpel that can distinguish between brain tumors and healthy brain tissue came into being. Its designer is David Oliva Uribe (hereafter referred to as David), a Mexican who studies in Brussels, Belgium.
When a brain tumor has been diagnosed and surgical removal is necessary, the device will work. The tool is about the size of a scalpel and has a spherical tip with a diameter of 1 mm. Its prototype has been tested on artificial tumor tissue and tissue extracted from the pig brain. The test results are very successful, which fully proves the feasibility of this equipment entering the human test phase.
Smart scalpels have been tested on artificial tissue.
The top of the device is equipped with a sensor. When the neurosurgeon rubs the spherical tip over the surface of the tissue to be tested, the device will prompt the doctor whether the tissue is healthy or a tumor. The prompting method has two kinds of sound signals and visual signals. You can also use both types of prompts. The device can give results within half a second after testing, saving valuable time during surgery.
The Master of Mechanics at Monterrey University of Technology in Mexico gave a brief introduction to the problems encountered in craniotomy: “Although imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Ultrasound Scan can be accurately positioned before surgery. The location of the tumor, but there are many factors that lead to changes in the position of the tumor during the opening of the skull and the operation. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on on-site observation, touch, and doctor's experience to accurately perform the operation in the case of a tumor position shift. ."
During the procedure, the doctor has only two ways to identify the contour of the tumor: using a microscope for observation or using tissue manipulation tools. However, the use of tools to extract brain tissue may cause that part of the brain texture to lose activity, thereby affecting certain brain functions. Therefore, the importance of an instrument with high sensitivity and access to information only by contact is self-evident compared to conventional surgical tools.
David Oliva Uribe
David is the president of the Belgian branch of Mexico Overseas Talent Network. He said that the original intention of designing this instrument is to lock the tumor position in the early diagnosis stage. The tumor at this stage can be identified on MRI, but its visual physical characteristics are Very close to healthy tissue, making it difficult to distinguish during surgery.
The device has undergone six years of design and development. The mechanical components and sensing components were developed jointly by the University of Hannover and the Department of Neurosurgery in Germany, and the digital system was developed at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium.
David detailed how to improve sensor technology, miniaturize it and install it in an endoscope. In this way, when the stomach, the intestines and the like are examined, it is possible to detect whether or not the human tissue has a lesion in real time, thereby excising the malignant cancerous region when necessary.
In addition, this technology can also be applied to instruments used in robot-assisted surgery. Because this sensing technology can provide high-quality sensing information to authorize these remote surgical equipment to perform the corresponding operations.
Source: Omelette
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