Jaydev P. Desai
Director - Robotics, Automation, and Medical Systems (RAMS) Laboratory
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Maryland at College Park
Challenges in Robotic MRI-guided Interventions: From Macro-scale to Meso-scale
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides excellent soft tissue contrast and has become a standard tool of physicians
in several image-guided interventions. However, the nature of MR imaging imposes several constraints on the choice of
actuators and sensors that can be used in robotic MRI-guided interventions. To understand some of the challenges,
both at the macro-scale as well as the meso-scale, the talk will focus on two current projects in our laboratory. The
first project is in the area of breast biopsy (Bx) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of breast tumors under
continuous MRI, while the second project is in the area of minimally invasive neurosurgical interventions under MRI
guidance.
The motivation for our research in the Bx/RFA project comes from the fact that The American Cancer Society estimates
one in eight women born today is likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. Although these
statistics are discouraging, recent, large-scale studies reported in The Lancet and The New England Journal of
Medicine demonstrate the value of MRI as an effective tool in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Similarly for breast
cancer treatment, RFA has emerged as a promising approach for early stage breast cancer treatment. Hence, the first
part of the talk will discuss our current work in the development of a macro-scale robotic system for Bx/RFA of
breast tumors under continuous MRI.
In the second part of the talk, we will discuss our progress in the development of meso-scale robotic system operated
under MRI guidance for neurosurgical interventions. Currently, the optimal treatment for most brain tumors involves
primary surgical resection. Unfortunately, many patients cannot undergo primary surgical resection of their brain
tumor due to either poor general health or an unfavorable location of the lesion, usually deep or otherwise
inaccessible to conventional neurosurgical techniques. As a result, our current efforts have targeted toward
the development of a MRI compatible meso-scale "minimally invasive" neurosurgical intracranial robot (MINIR) that can
be used to electrocauterize a deep brain tumor.