Prototype Development of a Robotic System for Skull Drilling

摘要

This paper presents an overview of automated robotic system for skull drilling, which is performed to access for some neurosurgical interventions, such as brain tumor resection. Currently surgeons use automatic-releasing cranial perforators. The drilling procedure must be performed very carefully to avoid penetration of brain nerve structures; however failure cases are reported. The presented prototype system utilizes both preoperative and intraoperative information. Preoperative CT image is used for robot path planning. A NeuroMate robot with a six-DOF force sensor at the end effector is used for intraoperative operation. Intraoperative cutting force from the force sensor is the key information to revise an initial registration and preoperative path plans. Some possibilities are verified by path simulation but cadaver experiments are required for validation of this prototype.