NASA Inspired Probe Improves Safety and Efficiency of Brain Surgery

B-ROLL AND JPEG IMAGES OF THE SMART PROBE AVAILABLE

NASA Inspired Probe Improves Safety and Efficiency of Brain Surgery

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is applying technology destined for the Space Program to applications in neurosurgery. The NASA Smart Probe, intended for eventual use in a surgical robot to support astronauts on long space missions, is being developed to increase the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of neurosurgical operations, such as brain tumor surgery.

Russell J. Andrews, MD, Chief of Neurosurgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso and co-inventor of the Probe, will be discussing this new technology at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons on Monday, November 1, 1999.

The Probe is being developed at the NASA Ames Research Center in California under the direction of Robert W. Mah, PhD, co-inventor of the device.

Brain tumor operations are currently guided by preoperative imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT). Two major drawbacks are that the brain, as well as the tumor, can shift during open operations, and that a CT or MRI guided biopsy can inadvertently tear a blood vessel when traversing the brain to the tumor.

"The Smart Probe offers several advantages in stereotactic brain biopsy," said Dr. Andrews. "First, the Probe can detect blood vessels on the path to the tumor, allowing the surgeon to redirect the biopsy needle to avoid causing a hemorrhage. Second, the Probe can determine the nature of the tissue at the Probe's tip in real-time, so that additional samples may be taken immediately if, for example, a highly malignant tumor is suspected."

The NASA Smart Probe uses multiple microsensors, such as optical spectroscopy, micro-ultrasound, micro blood flow monitor, micro-endoscopy, and micro-electrode recording, to instantaneously gather a large amount of information about the tissue at the Probe's tip. Neural net algorithms analyze the information and provide real-time interpretations.

"The neural net software, which is the same type of software technology that helps focus camcorders, learns to distinguish tumors from normal brain tissue by remembering the unique signatures for each kind of tissue, and then making a model," said Dr. Mah.

The Windows NT platform and the ability to run the software on a laptop computer give the Smart Probe the potential for applications not only in neurosurgery, but also in the treatment of breast or prostate cancer.

"Multiple sensors and neural net learning techniques make the Smart Probe much more robust and informative than single modality probes such as micro-ultrasound," said Dr. Andrews. "Possible other neurosurgical applications are in the monitoring of severely head-injured patients, and the early diagnosis of degenerative diseases such as Huntington's chorea and Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, it may be used in neurosurgery for such movement disorders as Parkinson's Disease."

Founded in 1951, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) is a scientific and educational association with approximately 4,800 members worldwide. The CNS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of patients with injury to, or diseases of, the brain spine, and peripheral nerves.

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Media Representatives: To view the online press room, visit http://www.neurosurgery.org/pubpages/news/cn99mediakit.html If you would like to cover the meeting or interview a neurosurgeon - either on-site or via telephone - please contact Deia Lofendo at (847) 518-2519 or call the press room at the meeting beginning Sunday, October 31, at (617) 954-2595.