Image guided operating robot: a clinical application in stereotactic neurosurgery

Describes a system based on the combined use of medical imaging and robot positioning used in stereotactic neurosurgery. The types of interventions performed with the help of this system require a high precision (less than 1 millimeter) of positioning with respect to the patients brain with no direct visibility of the target; they are executed through a hole in the skull of 2.3 millimeters. A typical example is the placement of a stimulating electrode in a particular nucleus of the thalamus for patients suffering from Parkinson´s disease. These interventions rely on the intensive use of medical imaging to define the operative strategy. The target is defined with respect to the images. A six-axis robot whose end-effector is a linear guide automatically reaches a configuration generated such that if the surgical instrument (needle, electrode, etc.) is introduced in the guide, the surgeon reaches the target using a linear displacement of the instrument. This system is operational and is in routine clinical use