Scientists from the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada have developed a set of microneurosurgical robots.The magnetic robot, with a diameter of approximately 3 millimeters, can simulate the dexterous movements of surgeons, accurately grasping, pulling, and cutting body tissues, providing a new tool for less invasive brain surgeries.The related research paper was published in the recent issue of the journal Science Robotics.Traditional brain surgeries typically require surgeons to cut open part of the skull to expose the lesion, which not only causes significant trauma and high risk but also results in a long postoperative recovery period. The newly developed micromagnetic robot offers a new approach for minimally invasive brain keyhole surgeries (surgeries performed through small incisions), potentially greatly reducing surgical trauma.The medical field has been using robots with a diameter of 8 millimeters for keyhole surgeries on other parts of the human body for decades, but developing a neurosurgical robot with a diameter of less than 3 millimeters has always faced bottlenecks. This is because current robotic surgical tools are usually driven by cables connected to motors, and if the cables are too thin, they can break due to friction, while if they are too thick, miniaturization becomes difficult. The new system employs external magnetic field drive technology, successfully overcoming this physical limitation.The latest robot system consists of two parts: a mechanical arm that includes a gripper, surgical knife, and tweezers, and a magnetic system embedded with multiple electromagnetic coils. The mechanical arm can be inserted into the patient’s brain through a tiny incision, and the surgeon can manipulate the magnetic field by adjusting the current flowing into the coils, allowing the mechanical arm to grasp, pull, or cut tissue as needed.The team tested the robot’s performance by placing tofu and raspberries inside a brain model. The results showed that the magnetic surgical knife produced consistent and narrow incisions, with an average cutting width of 0.3 to 0.4 millimeters, far exceeding the precision range of traditional manual tools, which is 0.6 to 2.1 millimeters. Additionally, the success rate of the gripper in capturing targets reached 76%, demonstrating reliable operational stability.Currently, the team is working to integrate this system into hospital operating rooms. As the technology continues to mature and iterate, this robot is about to enter the clinical trial phase.
Planning and Production
Source | Science and Technology Daily
Editor | Zhong Yanping
Review | Xu Lai, Lin Lin
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