AI-Powered Robotic Brain Surgery Launches in Hong Kong

An AI-powered surgery robot could soon become commonplace in Hong Kong, following its successful “deep brain surgery”trials.

The Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), a research center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, completed three successful trials on cadavers,=. Plans are  now underway to move the robot into commercial use.

The robot, dubbed MicroNeuro, is fitted with a flexible endoscope and leverages AI and precision control to perform accurate and precise surgeries on brain tissue, a typically difficult procedure given the small, delicate nature of the brain region.

In tests, MicroNeuro’s efficacy was demonstrated in removing brain tumors from cadavers. The tests proved that using MicroNeuro, a single surgeon could complete all the necessary surgical tasks through one skull hole with one trajectory, reducing brain tissue damage by “at least 50%.” 

“Less than 3% of surgeries are performed using robots today due to technical limitations,” CAIR said on its website. “At CAIR, we believe the key to further unleash the potential of surgical robots lies in creating fully sensorized minimally invasive surgical robotic systems with self-evolving intelligence. 

“Such systems will ensure surgical safety, free surgeons from labor-intensive tasks, enable unprecedented novel surgical treatments and thus ultimately improve surgical outcomes for patients.”

Related:Robotic Surgery Device Trials Begin in China

The team said its goal is to develop a fully sensorized, AI-enabled robot for neurosurgery, and increase accessibility for surgeries globally in the process. 

To achieve this, they said they are continuing research and development projects into carrying out complex surgeries in confined spaces through novel instrument design, developing advanced sensing technologies for flexible surgical robots and developing a digital twin neurosurgery simulation system.