A group of engineers and researchers from MIT, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital have designed a robotic probe that will make is easier for doctors to access hard-to-reach places while delivering medication or performing surgery.
Diseases like cancer tumors or disorders in organs can occur in hidden places within the human body. Using X-rays, doctors can pinpoint the location of malignant tissue or any other abnormality, but physically delivering medicine or taking a biopsy can be exceedingly difficult if the point of interest lies deep within tissue. Invasive surgeries, or multiple injections at different angles, can unnecessarily damage healthy tissue.
The device is called the Robotically Steerable Thermal Ablation Probe (RSTAP), and it was featured at this year's IEEE’s International Conference on Robotics and Automation. The key to this device is that it only needs to be inserted once, and then simply repositioned at different depths and rotated, to reach multiple areas of interest within a 3D volume.
The probe itself is made up of a straight shaft, called a cannula, that contains a pre-curved Nickel titanium or Nitinol (a shape memory material) stylet that extends from it. The team presented the design of a screw-spline drive mechanism comprised of the profiled and threaded shaft with a specially designed nut that reduces the parts needed and significantly simplifies manufacturing and assembly. To obtain the optimal curve for the Nitinol stylet, the team derived an expression that relates the tolerance between the specialized nut and shaft to the angular backlash of the stylet. They used SolidWorks to confirm their results.
First the degrees of freedom of the probe are tested to make sure all designed movements can be achieved. Then, the patient’s X-ray scan is uploaded and registered with the appropriate coordinates so the doctor can simply choose the destinations of the probe by clicking on a spot on the digital image. Lastly, they check to make sure the robot’s actual coordinate system matches that of the digital X-ray, and the procedure can begin.
This instrument will make many surgeries significantly less invasive, which will hopefully increase the success of diagnosis and treatment. Applications are many for this tiny probe, and include injections, biopsies, and thermal ablations. Tests have been performed on dead bovine tissue, but no word yet on when it will be used on live humans.
I think they should incorporate this technology into some kind of backscratcher. In all seriousness though, I thought they did this type of thing already with different surgeries. Even when they do an appendiz surgery now a days they only leave a hole and inch or so long. simply amazing.
Great idea and creative use of memory metals. By the way, how repeatable is the Nitinol component as it is cycled? Is there a compensation method needed as the Nitinol cycles increase?
I like this and read about this a little while ago...thanks for covering. The first thing that leaps to mind, though, is isn't there already similar technology out there? I suppose not exactly like this, but I am sure there are ways to get into hard-to-reach places being employed. I'm not well versed enough to know what they are, though! Still, this would be a good addition to any technology that can make surgery less invasive.
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