A Calgary-based research team aims to revolutionize neurosurgery by developing the world’s first image-guided, magnetic-resonance-compatible surgical robot. The $30-million Project neuroArm, a joint venture between the Calgary Health Region and the University of Calgary, promises less invasive and more accurate brain surgery. It also represents a new high-tech business opportunity for Alberta.
Robotic surgery
Although robotic surgery can sound a bit scary, it’s important to realize that the robot is not operating on its own. Rather, it is being directed by a surgeon who uses special controllers that translate his hand movements into the movements of the robotic arms. Seated at a workstation, the surgeon watches a video of the brain taken through a surgical microscope, and can also view 3-D magnetic-resonance images of the patient’s brain.“The robot sees much more, and that provides the surgeon with greater precision,” says Dr. Garnette Sutherland, a Calgary neurosurgeon and Project neuroArm leader. “With robotics, it is possible to see around corners and manipulate in ways that are now not possible.”
Accuracy
Accuracy is another advantage. While neurosurgeons are trained to work at an accuracy level of about 1 millimetre, the robot is accurate to 30 microns—a micron is one-thousandth of a millimetre. This increased accuracy is particularly important today, as advances in nanotechnology and robotics will afford the ability to shift surgery from the organic to the cellular level.
Because there is so little room for error, the controllers used by the surgeon incorporate technology that is far beyond today’s video-game controllers. The neuroArm controllers eliminate the natural tremor of the hand, and have safety switches that prevent accidental movements from being transmitted to the robot. The robot’s “hands” are equipped with force sensors that transmit a sense of touch back to the surgeon through the hand controllers. As a result, the surgeon can actually “feel” what’s going on in the operation.
Dr. Sutherland also expects Project neuroArm to revolutionize the way in which surgery is taught. Using neuroArm’s image-guidance system, surgeons can practise virtual operations before the actual procedure. “Practice makes perfect: the saying applies to surgeons just as well as anyone,” he adds.
Buzz
Given the advantages, it’s no surprise there’s a buzz around Project neuroArm—in business circles, as well as in the scientific and medical world. The project has attracted substantial funding and a key industrial partner: MD Robotics. This company is best known as the developer of the Canadarm, Canada’s contribution to the space shuttle program. MD Robotics is also the prime contractor for the sophisticated robotic system building and servicing the International Space Station.
Project neuroArm is now out of the lengthy design stage and rigorous testing stage, and into manufacture. Delivery is expected within the next 20 months, after which neuroArm will be rapidly incorporated into surgery.
Bigger objective
While the development of a functional surgical robot might be enough of a goal for a research project, the neuroArm team has its sights set on something bigger. “Our objective is to help not only neurosurgical patients here in Alberta but those throughout the world,” says Dr. Sutherland. “To accomplish this, it is important to develop a company for the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of medical robotic systems.”
“The value of neuroArm isn’t in the nuts and bolts; it is in the knowledge we have about surgical robotics,” says Dr. Sutherland. “Protecting this knowledge is paramount. The AHFMR TC funding has played an important role in what we hope will be a commercial success.” A key part of company development is protecting the intellectual property behind neuroArm. The funding which Dr. Sutherland received from AHFMR’s Technology Commercialization (TC) program was used to offset the costs of patent protection.
Commercialization
Dr. Sutherland speaks from experience. Before Project neuroArm, he led the research team that invented an intraoperative MRI system—like neuroArm, a world first. The MRI system provides surgeons with exquisitely detailed three-dimensional images during an operation, so they can see if their surgery is proving successful. The system is manufactured and marketed by Winnipeg-based IMRIS Inc.
“We learned a lot of lessons from the commercialization of the intraoperative MRI system and we’re applying them to Project neuroArm,” says Dr. Sutherland. “People often talk about the difficulties involved in taking research results and translating them into changes at the bedside. Further translating this research to the marketplace may be even more difficult. As medical robotic technology is inevitable, we believe that Project neuroArm will be both successful, and a tribute to Canadian talent and dedication.”
Dr. Garnette Sutherland is a full professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary. In addition to its AHFMR Technology Commercialization funding, Project neuroArm also receives support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Western Economic Diversification, the Alberta Science and Research Authority, the Seaman family, and a wide range of community donors.