Automated Surgical Drill with Tissue Detection Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical procedures for accessing intracranial or intraventricular spaces are highly invasive, leading to significant patient distress, wound complications, and delayed chemotherapy initiation due to the need for large incisions and implanted devices, which are not effective for delivering drugs across the blood-brain barrier.
Innovation Solution
An automated surgical device with a drill and tissue detection sensor system that allows precise drilling through bone and real-time tissue characterization, enabling minimally invasive access and delivery of therapeutic or diagnostic devices to intracranial spaces, reducing the risk of complications and improving healing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a neurosurgeon makes a 5-10 cm incision in the scalp and drills a 1-1.5 cm burr hole through the skull to pass a 3.5 mm catheter, then access to intracranial spaces is achieved, but significant patient distress, wound breakdown, and infection are caused
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the surgical procedure into distinct functional modules: a drill module for creating the borehole, a detector module for tissue characterization, and a therapeutic device module for drug delivery. Each module can be independently actuated and positioned, allowing minimally invasive access while reducing overall surgical trauma and improving patient outcomes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical drilling with an automated drill system that precisely controls drilling parameters. The automated detector system substitutes manual tissue assessment with real-time optical detection, enabling minimally invasive procedures that reduce patient distress and wound complications
2Adaptability or versatility
If a 3.5 mm catheter is passed through the brain and into the ventricles with a 1-1.5 cm burr hole, then drug delivery to intracranial spaces is enabled, but the incision size and surgical trauma are excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by using a small-diameter drill bit (less than 2 mm) to create a precisely targeted borehole only where needed, rather than making a large 5-10 cm incision. The automated detector ensures the borehole reaches the exact target location, enabling drug delivery through a minimal access point that preserves surrounding tissue and reduces surgical trauma
Solution Approach 2:
The detector module serves multiple functions: it characterizes tissue properties during drilling, detects breakthrough from bone, and guides the placement of therapeutic devices. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate surgical steps and reduces overall incision size requirements
3Reliability
If traditional Ommaya reservoir implantation is performed, then intracranial chemotherapeutic delivery is achieved, but the procedure is highly invasive and delays chemotherapy initiation
Solution Approach 1:
The automated detector performs preliminary tissue characterization and breakthrough detection during the drilling process, allowing the surgeon to confirm accurate placement before completing the procedure. This eliminates the need for post-surgical delays to assess placement, enabling immediate chemotherapy initiation while maintaining delivery reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The drill and detector system is self-contained with automated actuation, allowing the entire procedure to be performed through a minimal incision without requiring large surgical exposures. The system self-regulates drilling depth and detects when the target is reached, reducing surgical time and enabling faster chemotherapy initiation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system facilitates precise, minimally invasive access to intracranial spaces, reducing patient distress, infection risk, and recovery time, while enabling targeted drug delivery and diagnostic procedures with enhanced precision and safety.
Implementation Method 1
The tissue detection sensor can be an interferometric device or sensor, for example, an optical probe for optical coherence tomography (OCT)
Implementation Method 2
The tissue sensor can be, in other examples, a backscatter probe
Implementation Method 3
a drill bit configured to bore through bone
Implementation Method 4
The tissue detection sensor can be an interferometric device or sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical device for automated drilling includes a drill comprising a drill bit configured to bore through bone and a detector comprising a tissue detection sensor. The drill and detector are independently actuable for insertion and removal of the drill bit and the tissue detection sensor in a bore generated by the drill bit. A surgical system can include the surgical device and a controller configured to actuate the drill to bore through bone, actuate the drill to retract the drill bit from the bore, actuate the detector to insert the tissue detection sensor into the bore, and determine a tissue characteristic at a distal location of the bore based on a sensed signal from the tissue detection sensor.