Breaking News: An Automated Robotic Drill May Change The Way Craniotomies Are Performed

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZAV1Jo2fztz8oywuQnFKYbXNST2Hu9hxXso7ziqawA2DspdQG8BXQMB1FAzhT5vE_s0FXOmbWcZAbFJL1_vPYzBCCi36zyTjIZ_6bQXNEeo6deDsI05o3O9VFuXnis79E9moFYnq8vs/s1600/Craniotomy+Car+Style.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZAV1Jo2fztz8oywuQnFKYbXNST2Hu9hxXso7ziqawA2DspdQG8BXQMB1FAzhT5vE_s0FXOmbWcZAbFJL1_vPYzBCCi36zyTjIZ_6bQXNEeo6deDsI05o3O9VFuXnis79E9moFYnq8vs/s640/Craniotomy+Car+Style.png" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: large;">What do a car and your skull have in common?</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Probably just carbon and a few other elements. But soon, hospitals across the world may be using the same technology used to drill cars, to perform intricate cranial surgery. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The University of Utah tapped their Mechanical Engineering department to design exactly that: A drill for the skull that can cut into the cranium with such an unparalleled precision. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">While the idea for the machine came from drills used in cars, the version custom-built to perform neurosurgeries was programmed to work with and around the sensitive structures in the brain. In the past, a neurosurgeon would have to slowly, painstakingly, drill at the skull bone with a hand drill <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480624/" target="_blank"><strong>specifically designed for cranial surgery</strong></a>. This machine, though, takes away the backbreaking work of bone-cutting from the neurosurgeon, allowing him to maintain his focus on the whole operation. </span><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br />“It was like doing <b><i>archaeology</i></b>. We had to slowly take away the bone to avoid sensitive structures.” </span></blockquote> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">These were the words that Dr. William Couldwell, a neurosurgeon at the University of Utah Health, used to describe the procedure. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">However, hacking at bone is not the be-all and end-all of craniotomies. A craniotomy is but a means to an end: The neurosurgeon still has to get to the actual issue: A brain tumor, an abscess, even a tapeworm in the brain. With all the neurosurgeon’s energy sapped from bone-hacking, you bet that he’d have less focus and sharpness when he has to get into the actual issue. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lPU8k4bJYa0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lPU8k4bJYa0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">But thanks to Dr. William Couldwell and the mechanical engineers at the University of Utah, soon, neurosurgeons can be freed to focus on the heart of their tasks: Whatever needs to be removed from the brain. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The machine even has a nifty function: It can cut away and remove large sections of bone. By contrast, the existing tools require gradual chipping, and at smaller points at a time. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">This comes as good news for neurosurgeons, indeed, as with this automated robotic drill, surgeon fatigue would be reduced in leaps and droves. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">For more details, head on over to <a href="http://newatlas.com/robotic-drill-skull-minutes/49297/" target="_blank"><strong>New Atlas</strong></a> and the <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/publicaffairs/news/2017/04/drill-neurosurgery.php" target="_blank"><strong>University of Utah’s official press release</strong></a>. </span><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <b>Photo Credits: </b><a href="http://newatlas.com/robotic-drill-skull-minutes/49297/" target="_blank">New Atlas</a><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=5544835517721897626&postID=3341521348434219844&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9Bov-5jxblscorzGCopVL5Xz68i6dvP9jIudFNjEHqR8MMdmVfysddhDjGUhuvlerb67aHnfQDJEUeUQZ5kjo_Wx4ig1t1Up2WOpNkMj-NaNLwPtxqdA3ez_SOd-1IwiRZWwI2BCbpA/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=780060284859147958&postID=&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMggqAn9B6n_ue3iBOqDQgfJmfpRxWvLyKJRt7IFP17wasPqRAsizTNNHpZHUKMuDMZm5A4duwa4m0IFs-cBh79J03YQVVToXxjf2LZ6qNn4CyLwa8Wy-c4jj2UC8QFH081Ja_q0iaXdM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> --------------------------------------------</div>

cranial surgery craniotomy Dr. William Couldwell Global News Health IT neurosurgery neurosurgery technology robot robotics Robotics and Surgery robots Tech revolutionizing Medicine Technology Breaking News: An Automated Robotic Drill May Change The Way Craniotomies Are Performed

What do a car and your skull have in common? Probably just carbon and a few other elements. But soon, hospitals across the world may b...

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