World’s smallest and most accurate 3D printed biopsy robot

The Stormram 4, as the robot is named, is made from 3D-printed plastic and is driven by air pressure.

The advantage of plastic is that the robot can be used in an MRI scanner. Carrying out a biopsy (removing a piece of tissue) during a breast cancer scan in an MRI significantly increases accuracy. The robot won a prestigious award during the Surgical Robotic Challenge at the international Hamlyn Symposium in London: one of the world’s most important events in the field of robotic surgery.

The Stormram 4 is a stimulus for the entire diagnostic phase of breast cancer; the accurate needle control, effectively real-time MRI scanning and a single, thin-needle biopsy enable quicker and more accurate diagnoses to be made. Medical robotics is sure to become standard procedure in hospitals in the near future.

STORMRAM 4

The Stormram 4 is driven by rectilinear and curved air-pressure motors. The robot is controlled from outside the MRI scanner by means of 5-metre-long air pipes. The design is smaller than the previous version, enabling it to fit inside the MRI scanner’s narrow tunnel.

BIOPSY

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women. By inserting a needle in the patient’s breast and navigating to the abnormal tissue (lesion), it is possible to take a tissue sample. A good diagnosis is made possible through subsequent clinical analysis; a process known as a biopsy.

NO INVASIVE SURGERY

Accurate navigation of the biopsy needle is of crucial importance in combating breast cancer and other forms of cancer. Through the use of special needles, the tip of which can be very hot (thermal ablation) or very cold (cryoablation), it is possible to destroy tumour cells close to the tip of the needle. This enables the treatment of cancer without the need for invasive surgical procedures.

ROBOTICS IS THE SOLUTION

MRI scanners are the answer when it comes to the extremely accurate detection and visualisation of the location of abnormal tissue. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make full use of this accuracy as long as needles are controlled by hand. Robotics offers the solution. Not all robots can be used in combination with MRI scanners. Robots are often made of metal, a material that cannot be used in the strong magnetic fields of MRI scanners. For this reason, the UT, in collaboration with Ziekenhuis Groep Twente (ZGT), has made the robot entirely of plastic.

What does it take for a human to trust a robot?

Learn more: UT ENTERS BATTLE AGAINST CANCER WITH 3D-PRINTED ROBOT

The Latest on: Biopsy robot

[google_news title=”” keyword=”biopsy robot” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]

5 new GI robots, procedures in 2024
on May 13, 2024 at 2:16 pm
4. The endoscopy team at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, Calif., completed the world's first endoscopic, ultrasound-guided core biopsy of a pancreatic tumor using the EndoDrill GI device. 5.
Robotic Prostate Surgery Can Reduce Side Effects Such as Incontinence, ED
on May 13, 2024 at 7:01 am
By Jamison S. Jaffe, DO When it comes to treatment for prostate cancer, men have a range of options, from active surveillance to radiation to surgery, just to name a few. Which approach to choose is a ...
1 AI Stock on the Verge of a 'Tremendous Growth Cycle'
on May 6, 2024 at 1:27 pm
Artificial intelligence (AI), which has been the talk of the town in investing circles lately, is poised to reach $1.8 trillion in market size by the end of the decade. It is catalyzing major ...
Bay Area doctors using Ion robot to detect lung cancer safer, faster than before
on April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
"The robot helps with the navigation out to where we're going and tries to get us in the right spot," Zider said. "Then we use additional tools to confirm we're in the right spot and biopsy the ...
Intuitive Surgical Reverses Lower On Expected 'Choppiness' For Its Pivotal Launch
on April 19, 2024 at 7:18 am
But there were puts and takes across the procedure growth. Ion, Intuitive's lung biopsy robot, put up a strong showing. But bariatric surgeries are still feeling the squeeze from weight-loss drugs.
Liquid Biopsy Has Near-Perfect Accuracy for Early Pancreatic Cancer
on April 9, 2024 at 5:00 pm
San Diego — A liquid biopsy assay that combines a microRNA signature and a well-known biomarker for pancreatic cancer has demonstrated an accuracy of 97% for detecting stage I/II pancreatic ...
'Virtual biopsy' lets clinicians analyze skin noninvasively
on April 9, 2024 at 5:00 pm
(B) For a virtual biopsy, an OCT scan of tissue is acquired, and a trained neural network transforms the 2D OCT image into a corresponding H&E-like image. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10. ...
Lymph node biopsy guided by ultrasound
on January 16, 2023 at 2:03 pm
A lymph node biopsy is when a doctor checks and removes a small piece of tissue or sample of cells from one of your lymph nodes. The doctor sends this to the laboratory and a specialist doctor called ...
Muscle Biopsy
on December 18, 2020 at 3:51 am
Muscle biopsy is a minor surgical procedure that involves making an incision in the skin to obtain a few small pieces of the underlying muscle for detailed histologic, histochemical, or biochemical ...
A pioneer in neurosurgical robots
on July 31, 2020 at 6:23 am
After years of research and clinical trials, the robot was updated several times, and has been used for clinical procedures including brain biopsy, draining brain hematoma, and implanting electrodes.