Smart needle could revolutionise brain surgery

The University of Adelaide has developed a smart needle that helps surgeons detect and avoid vulnerable blood vessels during brain surgeries.

We’ve seen smart devices used in health and wellbeing. In January, we wrote about a smart running shoe that let users know if they are in good enough shape to run. Now, a new high-tech medical device to make brain surgery safer has been developed by researchers at the University of Adelaide.

The ‘smart needle’ helps surgeons detect and avoid vulnerable blood vessels during brain surgeries. It is made from a tiny, fiber-optic camera encased within a brain biopsy needle device that emits infrared light to detect the blood vessels. The needle has an accompanying computer system that identifies the blood vessel and alerts the surgeon before damage can occur. Professor Christopher Lind, who led the clinical trial, explains that the needle “will open the way for safer surgery, allowing us to do things we’ve not been able to do before.”

The smart needle will be ready for formal clinical trials in 2018. How else will we see smart technology deployed to save lives?