Robot soon able to operate inside MRI scanners

The MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine of the University of Twente has been awarded a €1.9 million grant from the Dutch government's 'Pieken in de Delta' regional economic development scheme. With the grant it will develop technology to enable robot-assisted operations inside MRI scanners. The researchers will initially develop the technology for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, but the technology will be applicable for a variety of minimally invasive surgical procedures. MIRA will be working on the project in partnership with the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Demcon, Siemens and Xivent Medical.

New developments in medical technology mean that medical treatments are becoming increasingly effective and less invasive. Within the realm of 'minimally invasive surgery', operations will be carried out through a natural body opening or a small incision, where the clinician will use extremely small, robotically-controlled instruments. The advantage of this type of surgery is that it reduces patient trauma and enables quicker recovery time.

Because clinicians cannot directly see the area being operated on during minimally invasive surgery, they often rely on medical imaging techniques. One of the best known of these is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This method would be highly suitable for use in combination with certain minimally invasive surgeries were it not for the fact that MRI scanners use extremely strong magnets. As a result traditional instrumentation made of ferromagnetic materials cannot be used in the scanner. Further, due interference with the electromagnetic field, conventional electronic equipment is not suitable.

MIRIAM
The University of Twente, working in partnership with the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Demcon Advanced Mechatronics, Siemens and Xivent Medical, has been awarded a €1.9 million grant to make robot-assisted surgery inside an MRI scanner possible. The development of this technology will be carried out as part of the MIRIAM (Minimally Invasive Robotics in an MRI Environment) project. In this project researchers will be examining the possibilities offered by MRI for the correct positioning of needles and other medical instruments. The challenges to be overcome are the design of a robotic system, the development of computer models to navigate the needle through tissue, and the testing of the developed system.

Prostate cancer
The project will initially focus on the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, which is the most frequently diagnosed type of malignant tumour, with 346,000 new cases in Europe every year. MIRA aims to use the technique when taking tissue samples and when treating prostate cancer with the help of brachytherapy, where radioactive material is placed inside the tumour. In both cases the surgeon has to position a needle with great accuracy. Clinicians are currently dependent on MRI scans that have been made in advance for this. If these operations were to be carried out inside an MRI scanner, the clinician could see real time images showing whether the needle had been correctly positioned. MIRA aims to develop a working prototype in four to five years.

According to the researchers the project will not only bring about an improvement in healthcare, it will also have a considerable economic impact. They say that a conservative estimate of its ultimate market value would be around €110 million.

Provided by University of Twente