We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
RANDOX LABORATORIES

Download Mobile App




Soft Robotic Electrode Offers Minimally Invasive Solution for Craniosurgery

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 26 May 2023
Print article
Image: The deployable electrodes are ideal for minimally invasive craniosurgery (Photo courtesy of EPFL)
Image: The deployable electrodes are ideal for minimally invasive craniosurgery (Photo courtesy of EPFL)

Minimally invasive medical procedures offer numerous benefits to patients, including decreased tissue damage and shorter recovery periods. However, creating equipment that can pass through a small opening and function effectively on the other side calls for some innovative designing. Now, researchers have developed a cortical electrode that can be inserted through a tiny opening in the skull and still provide significant data on brain electrical activity.

Researchers at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) were tasked with creating a large cortical electrode array that could be introduced through a tiny skull opening. The aim was to deploy the device in the small space of about 1mm between the skull and the brain surface, all without causing harm to the brain. The researchers invented a soft robotic electrode, capable of being inserted through a small skull opening, which unfolds a series of spiral arms, thereby allowing for electrocorticography measurements from a relatively larger brain surface area. This technology could be extremely beneficial for neurosurgeons aiming to map brain regions responsible for epileptic seizures, then surgically address these problematic areas. By minimizing the portion of the skull removed during surgery, patient recovery is faster, and trauma associated with such procedures is reduced.

The initial prototype comprises an electrode array small enough to fit through a 2 cm diameter hole, but when unfolded, it extends across a 4 cm diameter surface. It features six spiral-shaped arms designed to maximize the electrode array's surface area and, therefore, the number of electrodes interacting with the cortex. Straight arms can lead to uneven electrode distribution and reduced contact surface area with the brain. Resembling a spiraled butterfly compactly tucked within its cocoon before transformation, the electrode array, with its spiral arms, is neatly contained within a cylindrical tube, or loader, ready for insertion through the small skull opening. An averting actuation mechanism inspired by soft robotics enables the spiraled arms to be gently deployed over sensitive brain tissue, one at a time.

The electrode array looks similar to a rubber glove, with flexible electrodes patterned on one side of each spiral-shaped "finger." The "glove" is turned inside-out and housed within the cylindrical loader. For deployment, liquid is inserted into each "inverted finger" individually, causing it to revert and unfold over the brain. The electrode pattern is created by evaporating flexible gold onto highly compliant elastomer materials. The deployable electrode array has been successfully tested in a mini-pig.

“Minimally invasive neurotechnologies are essential approaches to offer efficient, patient-tailored therapies,” said Stéphanie Lacour, professor at EPFL Neuro X Institute. “We needed to design a miniaturized electrode array capable of folding, passing through a small hole in the skull and then deploying in a flat surface resting over the cortex. We then combined concepts from soft bioelectronics and soft robotics.”

Related Links:
EPFL 

Platinum Supplier
Real-Time Diagnostics Onscreen Viewer
GEMweb Live
New
Gold Supplier
IMRT Thorax Phantom
CIRS Model 002LFC
New
Afterloader For Brachytherapy
Flexitron
New
Portable DR Flat Panel Detector
VIVIX-S 1012N

Print article
Radcal

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The new blood test could prevent some of the 350,000 sepsis deaths in the U.S. annually (Photo courtesy of Cytovale)

Sepsis Test Could Save Lives in Emergency Departments, Study Suggests

Sepsis poses a severe, life-endangering illness that arises when an infection triggers a body-wide chain reaction, potentially causing multiple organs to fail quickly. Prompt and accurate diagnosis is... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The broad-spectrum POC coagulometer is well-suited for emergency room and emergency vehicle use (Photo courtesy of Perosphere)

Novel POC Coagulometer with Lab-Like Precision to Revolutionize Coagulation Testing

In emergency settings, when patients arrive with a bleed or require urgent surgery, doctors rely solely on clinical judgment to determine if a patient is adequately anticoagulated for reversal treatment.... Read more

Business

view channel
Image: The global surgical lights market is expected to grow by close to USD 0.50 billion from 2022 to 2027 (Photo courtesy of Freepik)

Global Surgical Lights Market Driven by Increasing Number of Procedures

The global surgical lights market is set to witness high growth, largely due to the increasing incidence of chronic illnesses, a surge in demand for cosmetic and plastic surgeries, and untapped opportunities... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2023 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.