Accuracy and precision are the keys to carry out a successful brain surgery and the team of neurosurgeons and neurologists at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Secunderabad, India have aced the technique of using an artificial intelligence or AI-powered ‘Autoguide’ robot for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). A surgery where every millimetre has an impact on the outcome, this successful technique used at KIMS is the first of its kind in the world. The result of this surgery has sparked hope of revolutionising the treatment of brain ailments linked to movement disorders and parkinson’s disease.
A patient named Abhinay kumar, aged 32 years now was diagnosed six years ago with a rare disorder with symptoms of tightness of hands and legs leading to difficulty in walking like parkinson’s disease. Initially he had tremors in his right hand, which increased with time and age disabling him to even hold a cup of tea properly. With the disease progression he was not able to walk and that led him to give up his job. So the need of the hour was to carry out a surgical intervention with absolute precision to identify the anomaly in his brain. In early March 2022, Dr. Manas Panigrahi, HOD, Neurosurgery Department at KIMS Hospital alongwith Dr. Dhanunjay, Dr. Praveen Kumar Yada and a team of highly skilled nursing staff at the hospital carried out the surgery on the patient. The team of neurosurgeons and neurologists who were specialists in movement disorders and parkinson’s disease with the aid of an extremely accurate robotic tool were able to reach the exact location in the brain with high levels of accuracy and precision to treat the problem. Resultantly today the patient is able to resume a normal life.
The Stealth Autoguide robot helps to calculate the exact position and trajectory that is required to reach the targeted area of the brain. The neurosurgeon places a very thin wire with small electrodes on its tip that delivers electrical simulation to a small volume of tissue. A standard accuracy registration for deep brain stimulation usually falls between 0.8-1.2 millimeters and by using the Stealth Autoguide robot, the team at KIMS Hospitals has registered an accuracy within 0.2 millimeter.
The AI integrated robotic system used at KIMS helps to carry out various kinds of brain surgeries including brain tumour biopsy, epilepsy surgery, deep brain stimulation for movement disorders and parkinson’s disease and some psychiatric disorders. This use of technology makes the Parkinson’s Centre at the KIMS Hospitals as one of the very few places in Asia where such complex procedures can be carried out.
SOURCE: SPECIAL.NDTV.COM
