Research

From SMARTS

1 Current Research
2 Previous Research
- 2.1 Image-guided robot for small animal research
3 Resources

Current Research

Small Animal Radiation Research Platform

In cancer research, well characterized small animal models of human cancer, such as transgenic mice, have greatly accelerated the pace of development of cancer treatments. The goal of the Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP) is to make those same models available for the development and evaluation of novel radiation therapies. SARRP can deliver high resolution, sub millimeter, optimally planned conformal radiation with on-board cone-beam CT (CBCT) guidance. Active: 2005 - Present

Imaged Guided Neurosurgery Robot

We hypothesize that an image-guided robot can improve safety by preventing the surgeon from accidentally damaging critical structures during the skullbase drilling procedure. We attached the cutting tool to the robot end-effector and operate the robot in a cooperative control mode, where robot motion is determined from the forces and torques applied by the surgeon. We employed virtual fixtures to constrain the motion of the cutting tool so that it remains in the safe zone that was defined on a preoperative CT scan. Active: 2006 - Present

Prostate Brachytherapy Robot

In collaboration with Gabor Fichtinger (Queen's University), E. Clif Burdette (Acoustic MedSystems, Inc.) and Gernot Kronreif (Profactor GmbH), we developed a robot system to replace the conventional template in transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided prostate brachytherapy. Our approach was to introduce the robot without changing the established clinical hardware, workflow and calibration procedures, thereby enabling us to more easily transition from research to clinical trials. The system is integrated with an FDA-approved treatment planning system (Interplant) and its associated ultrasound unit. We provide a small 4-axis robot that mounts on the ultrasound unit and is interchangeable with the conventional template. The robot positions and orients a needle guide, so the final act of needle insertion is left to the clinician. This preserves the haptic feedback that the clinician is accustomed to, while also reducing the level of technical risk. The advantages of the robot system are that it provides a continuum of needle positions and angulations, in contrast to the template which has a fixed 5 mm grid and only allows parallel needles. We successfully performed a Phase-I clinical feasibility and safety trial with 5 patients, under an approved IRB protocol, in 2007. Active: 2004 - Present