Robotic Neurosurgery

Abstract

Surgical robots have clearly affected the current practice of neurosurgery through several FDA-approved devices, most notably in the realm of radiosurgery. It is clear, however, that while the field of surgical robotics advances, attention must be given to the details of brain and spine surgery and surgical anatomy. Integrations of new focused technologies then can be adapted more easily into the neurosurgeon's already highly specialized operating environment. Creating the future of dexterity enhancement, automation, and sensory feedback, is of most value to surgical robotics if it can be studied in the context of each specialty. The robots most widely used in neurosurgery have been products of this contextual research, which concentrated on central nervous system-specific solutions. Attempts to adapt other instrumentation for neurosurgical use have proven to be less effective. 5. References Adler JR, Murphy MJ, Chang SD et al (1999) Image-guided robotic radiosurgery. Neurosurgery 44:1299?1307 Benabid AL, Cinquin P, Lavelle S et al (1987) Computer driven robot for stereotactic surgery connected to CT scan, and magnetic resonance imaging: technological design and preliminary results. Appl Neurophysiol 50:153?154 Benabid AL, Hoffman D, Munari C et al (1992) Potential use of robots in endoscopic neurosurgery. Acta Neurochir Suppl 54:93?97