Robotic Device Could Suck 92% Blood Clots Out Of The Brain

We have seen in yesterdays' article how can a robotic intubation device "GuideIN Tube" automatically identifies lungs in case the patients find it difficult to breath on their own. This time robotic device is used in sucking out of blood clots out of the brain.

When a blood vessel in the brain bursts, and the blood which subsequently leaks out of that vessel forms a clot, places pressure on the surrounding brain tissue known as Intracerebral hemorrhaging. It’s difficult to treat, and is fatal in about 40 percent of cases. A team from Nashville’s Vanderbilt University has created a robotic device "steerable needle" that is designed to remove those clots, in a safe and minimally-invasive fashion.

A robotic device "steerable needle", designed to remove blood clots in a safe and minimally-invasive fashion

"When I was in college, my dad had a brain hemorrhage. Fortunately, he was one of the lucky few who survived and recovered fully. I'm glad I didn't know how high his odds of death or severe brain damage were at the time, or else I would have been even more scared than I already was," Robert J. Webster III mechanical engineering professor who helped to innovate the needle, said.

In the Steerable Needle procedure, a CT scan would be used to determine the exact location of the clot. The robotic arm would be positioned outside of the skull, and a tube would be inserted into the brain until it was able to suck out the blood. The business end of the device consists of a tube-within-a tube. The straight outer tube is less than one-twentieth of an inch in diameter

Graduate student Philip Swaney work with Steerable Needle procedure in which a CT scan would be used to determine the exact location of the clot

The system would most likely be able to remove about 92 percent of the clot.

"The trickiest part of the operation comes after you have removed a substantial amount of the clot. External pressure can cause the edges of the clot to partially collapse making it difficult to keep track of the clot's boundaries," Webster said.

The researchers are now working on adding ultrasound imaging to the device along with a computer model in which brain tissue deforms around a clot, in order to ensure that the device is able to safely remove as much of the clot as possible.

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Robotic Device Could Suck 92% Blood Clots Out Of The Brain