Sterling Point Research, in conjunction with Children's Hospital Boston, intends to develop a multi-stage robotic endoscope for neurosurgical applications. This novel robotic system will utilize recently developed concentric tube technology to give neurosurgeons the ability to overcome the limitations of manually controlled flexible endoscopes. The current state-of-the art in flexible endoscopy is fundamentally limited in its actuation, restricting its workspace and reducing its effectiveness. The new robotic endoscope will utilize multiple curved actuated sections, thus enlarging and improving its capabilities. Furthermore, specific portions of each robot may be designed using parameters obtained in preoperative imaging, allowing the surgeon to customize individual robots for specific procedures. In phase I, the development of the robot will focus on addressing one particular procedure - Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy and Choroid Plexus Cauterization (ETV/CPC) - as a means of demonstrating the feasibility and clinical value of the system. The robotic endoscope will be evaluated based on its ability to enlarge the tool workspace and improve the controllability of the tip. Further work in phase I will aim to develop a novel user interface for robotic endoscopes, improving functionality and ease-of-use.
Public Health Relevance: Sterling Point Research and Children's Hospital Boston have assembled a team to create a minimally invasive robotic endoscope for neurosurgical procedures. The proposed robot will enable physicians to transcend the physical limitations of the human hand, and will be able to follow multiple curvatures to reach deeper and more precisely into the brain than current neurosurgical endoscopes. A novel user interface will be established to provide intuitive control of the robot to the surgeons.
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