In March 2023, New Era of Neurosurgery in Southern Taiwan: Surgical Navigation Robot Becomes Assistant to the Doctors’. With the “Machine Vision Technology” assisted navigation system, critical brain function regions can be precisely targeted and treated. Safe, minimally invasive, and painless!
Dr. Sheng-Zhe Lin, the superintendent of Annan Hospital, has emphasized that the highest guiding principle for neurosurgery at An Nan Hospital is “precision, safety, minimally invasive, and painless.” Given the complex and delicate structure of the brain and spinal cord, the success of surgery relies not only on the expertise and experience of the surgeon but also on advanced medical technology. Incorporating such technology can greatly benefit the execution of the surgery plan, intraoperative guidance and monitoring, and assessment of the initial treatment efficacy and prevention of complications. This approach not only provides patients with effective and safe care but also enhances the overall quality of medical services.
“However steady a doctor’s hand may be, there are always limits,” said Dr. Chuang Hao-Yu, the director of the neurosurgery department at Annan Hospital. “When faced with a tumor located deep in the thalamus, which can be about 10 centimeters deep from the brain surface, surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid and blood vessels, and with complex brainstem structures below, the surgical process can be nerve-wracking. In such cases, if a tumor biopsy is necessary, relying on a stable robotic arm and precise navigation can complete the registration and positioning in less than 10 minutes. The instrument can then be set to advance and retreat 0.5 millimeters per second stably in the brain. With the preliminary preparations done by the surgeon, the rest of the procedure can be left to the robotic arm. After biopsying 2-4 tumor locations, the surgeon can immediately obtain accurate frozen section reports.”
