The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of National Institutes of Health (NIH), is profiling some of the research it’s been funding over at its Science Highlights page. One interesting technology researchers have been working on at University of Maryland is an MRI compatible robotic snake-like ablation device that can move in 3D and would be used to carefully get to hard to access brain tumors and kill them with a heated tip.
Brain surgeries often involve intraoperative MRI, allowing the surgeon to work using live imaging for high precision work. But because of the bulky nature of MRI machines, brain tumors in certain locations are often difficult or impossible for surgeons to reach while the patient is being scanned. The University of Maryland robot is designed to be attached to the patient while outside the scanner. After positioning the head inside the MRI machine, the surgeon would then use a joystick to operate the device, navigate to the tumor and ablate it away.
More at National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering: Robots Could One Day Help Surgeons Remove Hard to Reach Brain Tumors…