A Body‐Mounted Device for MRI‐Guided Spinal Therapy

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader A Body‐Mounted Device for MRI‐Guided Spinal Therapy Via The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery Abstract Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with no cure and limited treatment options. Recent studies have shown that delivering cellular therapeutics to the ventral horn of the spinal cord can effectively halt neurodegeneration associated with ALS in small animal models. Methods We developed a robotic system that assists with MRI‐guided percutaneous injections to the spinal cord. The needle positioning robot consists of two linear axes with motorized translational sleds for two‐degree‐of‐freedom (2‐DOF) needle translation and a radial template for 2‐DOF discrete rotation. Results The robot's targeting capability, evaluated using phantom models and swine cadavers, showed mean targeting errors of 0.48 mm and 2.84 mm, respectively. The duration of the targeting procedure is approximately 60 minutes, with an extra 10 minutes for each additional injection. Conclusions The presented robot does not affect imaging quality during MRI‐guided procedures, and it enables a simplified workflow for MRI‐guided spinal therapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.