The field of robotics is a fascinating one to me. For instance, if you check out 9 Robotic Inventions That Are Already Among Us, you’ll see everything from convenience to life-saving innovations. Brain clots are leading cause of death and disability, and the odds of a person getting an intracerebral hemorrhage are one in 50 over his or her lifetime. Those who suvive clots have serious brain damage, and 40 percent of the individuals die within a month. Now an invention developed at Vanderbilt University that relieves brain pressure via robot.
When a person has a blood clot in certain parts of the brain, surgeons must weigh the pros and cons of whether going its removal is worth the potential damage that might occur to the surrounding tissue. That delicate dilemma is why researchers at Vanderbilt University have designed a special robot that could suction away blood clots, while minimizing damage to the brain.
The university said this new robotic surgical system uses “steerable needles” that can go around corners and reach places where surgeons previously couldn’t easily access. With a surgeon’s guidance, the robot makes a very small opening in the brain and then can be guided using medical imaging (e.g. CT scans). Then, the needles can reach right into a brain hemorrhage and suck out the blood clot from within.