Robot Reduces Need for Open Brain Surgery to Map Epileptic Seizures

The AHA! Team — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 07:38:39 +0000

Debbe Geiger via Duke Health – A Medical Advance for People with Epilepsy. A robotic device is allowing doctors to pinpoint the origins of a person’s seizures through minimally invasive surgery. The device, in use at Duke and some epilepsy centers across the country, allows neurosurgeons to implant hundreds of recording electrodes into the brain through about 10 to 20 small incisions. The procedure is highly precise, and it takes less time than traditional surgical options for seizure localization. People also recover faster and have less pain. Diagnosing the Origin of Epilepsy Seizures When medications fail to stop epileptic seizures, a person’s best hope for gaining control of their seizures is often epilepsy surgery. That can only happen if doctors can identify the area of the brain responsible for the seizures and remove it safely. To identify that spot, neurosurgeons may perform a craniotomy, creating a large opening in the skull, and then place a plastic grid of electrodes on the surface of the brain to record seizures and identify where they originate. However, the electrodes can’t access the folds or the parts of the brain between the two hemispheres and its deep structures. Shorter, More Precise Brain Mapping The team at Duke’s epilepsy center has another tool in their arsenal. Robot-assisted stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) is a minimally invasive procedure that rapidly places thin electrode wires in precise locations to map the brain and identify seizure origins. A 3D reconstruction of the brain guides where the dozen or more electrodes will be placed. The neurosurgeon uses a robotic arm to make small, two- or three-millimeter holes in the scalp through which the rigid electrode wire is passed. As opposed to grid electrodes, which sit on the surface of the brain, the wires are placed into the brain tissue with robotic assistance. The procedure takes about two to three hours. “The robot improves the efficiency of the procedure, and it reduces some of the possibility for human error. Depending on the patient’s condition, robot-assisted SEEG can be very useful for localizing seizures in a way that is more comfortable for patients,” said Duke neurosurgeon Derek Southwell, MD, PhD, of the Duke Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Due to its minimally invasive nature, placing depth electrodes this way is much better tolerated by patients than placing grid electrodes. Once the seizure origin is identified, the electrodes are removed, and people recover quickly. That is a huge benefit over recuperating from a craniotomy. The procedure is also better for cases where the exact location of the seizure cannot be identified, or the seizure origin is in a part of the brain that is inoperable. To read the original article click here.

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Scientist Invents Self-Healing Artificial Electronic Skin

AHA Publisher — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 07:00:36 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – The new polymeric elastic and waterproof and can heal itself, just like human skin does after an injury. A doctoral student at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa has invented a soft polymer that could be used as a self-healing high-tech “skin.” Muhammad Khatib’s polymer is elastic and waterproof. It can heal itself if scratched, cut or twisted, or in the event of a disruption to its electrical conductivity and chemical sensing capabilities. This “e-skin” could be used in a range of applications in the fields of robotics, prosthetics and wearable devices. Khatib, who conducts his research at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering at the Technion under the guidance of Prof. Hossam Haick, presented his innovative inventions in two papers in the journals Advanced Materials and Advanced Functional Materials. “The e‐skin is empowered with a novel self‐repair capability that consists of an intrinsic mechanism for efficient self‐healing of small‐scale damages as well as an extrinsic mechanism for damage mapping and on‐demand self‐healing of big‐scale damages in designated locations,” writes Khatib. “The electronic platform lays down the foundation for the development of a new subcategory of self‐healing devices in which electronic circuit design is used for self‐monitoring, healing, and restoring proper device function.” Inspired by natural mammal skin, scientists have put a great deal of effort into developing artificial electronic materials and devices with similar properties. These types of systems require soft materials whose functioning is not permanently harmed by distortions or tears. This is the problem that motivated Khatib to invent polymers that can heal themselves, just like human skin does after an injury. Khatib’s self‐healing stretchable conductive pathways were made by embedding silver nanowires or carbon nanotubes into the surface of the polymer. Self-Healing Even Under Water Khatib’s first project, presented in Advanced Functional Materials, describes the planning, building and implementation of elastomer – elastic and resilient polymer – that is water resistant, strong and capable of stretching to 1,100 percent of its original length without tearing. It can heal itself, even when soaked in tapwater, seawater, and water with varying levels of acidity. If mechanical damage to the polymer occurs when it is submerged in water, it knows how to heal itself and prevent electrical leakages from the device to the water. The second project, presented in Advanced Materials, is an e-skin containing a sensory system composed of nanometric materials that selectively and simultaneously monitor environmental variables such as pressure, temperature, and acidity. Inspired by the healing process of human skin, Khatib included an innovative autonomous self-healing system in the artificial skin. This system consists of neuron-like components that monitor damage to the system’s electronic parts, and other components that accelerate the self-healing process in the damaged places. This mechanism of self-healing enables the smart electronic systems to self-monitor their activities and repair functional problems caused by mechanical damage. “The new sensory platform is a universal system that displays stable functioning in both dry and wet environments, and it is capable of containing additional types of chemical and physical (electronic) sensors,” Khatib explained. “Both projects that were now published pave the way for new paths and new strategies in the development of skin-inspired electronic sensing platforms that can be integrated into wearable devices and electronic skins for advanced robots and artificial organs.” Khatib’s partners in the research are lab director Walaa Saliba; researcher Orr Zohar, who worked on developing the sensors and their attributes; and Prof. Simcha Srebnik, who worked on molecular simulations that clarify the capabilities of the new polymer. The research was carried out with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a grant from the A-Patch project, part of the EU Horizon 2020 program. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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Robot Reduces Need for Open Brain Surgery to Map Epileptic Seizures

Scientist Invents Self-Healing Artificial Electronic Skin