A surgical robot developed by engineering company Renishaw has assisted with neurosurgery at a Liverpool NHS Trust.

Neurosurgeons at the Walton Centre carried out their first two stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) procedures with the assistance of the Renishaw neuromate stereotactic robot.

SEEG is used in the treatment of epilepsy. Multiple intracerebral electrodes are inserted into the brain in pre-planned trajectories to gather data and map brain activity. Neurosurgeons can use the data to identify the region responsible for producing epileptic seizures.

The centre is the only NHS Trust in the UK dedicated to neuroscience. The procedures using a neuromate robot marks a transition to robot-assisted neurosurgery which should see patients and staff benefiting from reduced procedure times.

The epilepsy neurosurgery team at the centre estimate that the use of the neuromate robot will reduce procedure times significantly. The team was led by consultant neurosurgeons professor Paul Eldridge and Mr Jibril Osman-Farah, who said:

“Accurate targeting by multiple electrodes is essential to understand the location of the epileptic focus, prior to consideration of its excision or ablation. Since there are multiple trajectories to be both planned and executed it is highly suited to a robotic system fulfilling the requirement for a repetitive stereotyped activity. Without the robot it becomes impractical to consider such a series of multiple electrodes in a reasonable length of time for the procedure.” 

Stuart Campbell, clinical sales development manager at Renishaw, added: “The time saved during this latest procedure is a great result for the neurosurgeons and for the patient. We look forward to working closely with the team so that patients can continue to benefit from this innovative technology.”