Robot Performs Prostate Surgery Inside an MRI 64
the_newsbeagle writes: Researchers have developed a non-metallic robot with ceramic piezoelectric motors that functions inside an MRI machine, allowing surgeons to perform procedures guided by real-time imaging. It's now being tested in prostate biopsies. Doctors say this system will let them aim their needles more precisely and reduce the number of times they stick them in. The NIH thinks such systems could come in handy for neurosurgery too. Gregory Fischer, a professor of mechanical engineering at WPI whose Automation and Interventional Medicine Robotics Lab led the research says: "You can bring it into any MRI room and have it up and running in an hour. It can locate the target, track the needle, and if it deflects during insertion, it can steer the needle to hit the target. We’re taking baby steps to get the robot into clinical use."
Let's get it out of the way (Score:3, Funny)
First post, some crazy rant about the hosts file, moo moo cows, obligatory robotic overlords meme, etc.
Star Trek (Score:2)
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This, too:
http://www.medtronic.com/for-h... [medtronic.com]
weird sense of deja vu (Score:5, Funny)
I was just reading about an MRI that performs robot repair inside a prostate, so this headline really tripped me up for a second.
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Why would you have a robot that needs repair way up in there?
Re:weird sense of deja vu (Score:5, Funny)
Why would you have a robot that needs repair way up in there?
What happens when the prostate repair robot breaks down? Do you want to crawl up there and fix it?
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Help me find my keys and we can drive out.
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Why would you have a robot that needs repair way up in there?
What happens when the prostate repair robot breaks down? Do you want to crawl up there and fix it?
Why don't you ask Seattle? They are currently getting butt-fucked by a broken down tunneling robot.
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he's been dead for 40 years, I hope you enjoyed it
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I think it's a Soviet thing.
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In Soviet Russia, prostate fixes you.
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The first what? (Score:2)
Somebody did not fully explain this situation to the patient.
I mean, I wouldn't ever be the first guy verifying the test procedures for something so, um, delicate.
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*shudder* Wow, that whole Rule #34 thing just won't go away, will it?
Bad internets! Bad bad internets.
Dirty, naughty internets. There must be punishments. A spanking, I think.
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so you would prefer an agonizing slow death from cancer?
Re:combines two of my... (Score:5, Informative)
~~
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Mod parent up.
My dad had to deal with this in his early 70s, and was very painfully treated, successfully. Unfortunately, he passed from another form of cancer two years later. Recommended reading here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm... [nih.gov]
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Much is left unsaid when making this claim. If your cancer is found before age 65, or if the cancer is not localized, you absolutely will want to treat. The "wait and see" approach applies mostly to men who are closer to 80 than 65.
Yes, early prostate cancer (e.g. Gleason 3) does advance slowly relative to other cancers. But we're *not* talking about 10 years here. If you hope to live more than perhaps another 5 years after diagnosis, you definitely will need to address the cancer somehow (surgery, radi
Hackers lickin' their chops (Score:1)
This can go wrong is soooo many ways...
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leaving the cancer to grow doesn't exactly have a good outcome, either
DO NOT WANT! (?) (Score:2)
They got the headline wrong, should read : ROBOT ATTACKS PROSTATE of MAN TRAPPED in MRI with NEEDLES
I'm sure the younger generation will accept this as a beneficial advancement and not some of the scariest parts of the major motion picture "Prometheus".
First Use? (Score:5, Funny)
Bunch of geniuses invent robotic surgical equipment that can operate in an intense magnetic field.
What's the first thing they want to do with it?
"Stick it up his arse!"
Messy IEEE article (Score:5, Informative)
The original IEEE story is about the use of MRI when doing prostate cancer biopsies, not prostate cancer surgery, which is almost always the radical removal of the prostate -- something that would not be aided appreciably by MRI. (The visual field is already outstandingly clearly illuminated during a DaVinci robotic procedure. Seeing *within* the prostate would be unnecessary during removal.) Likewise, prostate surgeries for BPH (enlarged gland) won't warrant MR either, since the procedure is already well served by a simple camera attached to a trochar.
The article also fails to mention how economically feasible the use of MRI would be for biopsy, given the high cost of MR in general (perhaps 10x more than CT, which is perhaps 5X the cost of ultrasound, which is what's used now). In practice, it's more likely that advances in ultrasound (like doppler) will prove more useful and feasible for biopsy than will MR.
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The article also fails to mention how economically feasible the use of MRI would be for biopsy, given the high cost of MR in general
An MRI costs $280 in France, $1080 in the USA. The CURRENT prostate biopsy procedure costs well over $2000 in the USA. Guess what? Google is your friend.
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That's because in american health care system we have to 10 CEO's before the patient is allowed to the see the doctor first.
In france they lowered it to just 3 ceo's
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That's because in american health care system we have to 10 CEO's before the patient is allowed to the see the doctor first.
In france they lowered it to just 3 ceo's
as opposed to many eastern european countries where Americans and those with cash under the table see the doctor first. Unless you don't want to wake up...
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Yeah, the cost of prostate biopsies should go down somewhat. As a specialty, Pathology has gotten whacked in recent years on reimbursement rates. The current rule for reimbursements on prostate biopsies was finalized in Jan for 2015. I posted a link, but you may need to agree to TOS, etc. If so, look up code G0416 which is for prostate biopsies of any amount. Medical billing is a cryptic and mysterious art and I'm (thankfully?) shielded from that, but as near as I can tell it's going to cost somewhere betwe
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The article also fails to mention how economically feasible the use of MRI would be for biopsy, given the high cost of MR in general (perhaps 10x more than CT, which is perhaps 5X the cost of ultrasound, which is what's used now). In practice, it's more likely that advances in ultrasound (like doppler) will prove more useful and feasible for biopsy than will MR.
The extra cost may be worth it if the results are good enough. Here [abc.net.au] is a radio interview (with transcript) from an Australian doctor using MRIs for prostate exams, claiming fewer false positives resulting in unnecessary procedures, and better diagnosis of real prostate cancers.
I'm surprised the researchers were not aware... (Score:2)
I'm surprised the researchers were not aware that you can build robots with servos that aren't even in the same room as the "business end" of the robot. Plastic parts don't have to be actuated by locally mounted servos.
As a bonus, you don't have to build tiny servos, or have them packed together in a tiny volume, which drastically reduces the overall cost of the robot itself, as well as them being a heck of a lot easier to repair (making them even cheaper in terms of lifecycle cost).
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Plastic parts don't have to be actuated by locally mounted servos.
plastic parts won't do well in the autoclave
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What about the conductors? (Score:2)
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I'm just speculating, but if I were designing it the first thing I'd try would be twisted pair wiring. It's highly resistant to magnetic interference because the induction in one wire is perfectly balanced by induction in another - and you only need to get the connections made to piezo elements, which run off a voltage differential. All the sophisticated electronics can sit in a box some distance away.
non-metallic robot (Score:2)
Why? (Score:2)
Nice but why do prostate biopsies at all?
If it's the aggressive cancer version, you're fucked anyway, if not, it doesn't matter since you'll be dead anyway long before it becomes a problem.
Just make your testament.
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Um, no. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/p... [cancer.org]
I for one... (Score:1)
...welcome out new prostate-probing robotic overlords.
No fun on the receiving end (Score:4, Insightful)
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BPH - Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
umm... (Score:2)
...and here I thought I couldn't dread going into an MRI machine any more than I already did...
MRI prostate? (Score:2)
I didn't realize MRIs had prostates..
you learn something new every day!