<p> Advances in medical imaging now provide detailed images of tumors inside the brain and miniaturized energy delivery systems enable tumor destruction through local heating powered by Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT). LITT is a thermo-ablative procedure that uses a laser probe to produce a desired thermal profile inside of the tumor and cause heat-injury to the targeted tissue. </p><p> Surgeons can monitor the placement of the probe and the ablation profile using real-time MRI imaging and real-time thermometry data. This real-time imaging and monitoring enable the surgeon to determine how much of the brain tumor has been ablated, while also ensuring that safe boundaries are kept from other critical structures surrounding the tumor. </p><p> Unfortunately, some of these brain tumors are located deep within the sub insular and brain-stem, where access and resection are nearly impossible and the current standard of care is radiation and chemotherapy treatment. Other types of these tumors continually recur and are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. </p><p> As such, a minimally invasive means of accessing and treating deep, large and complex brain tumors is highly desirable. Thus, a method for steering the laser probe, such that it can follow curved trajectories and target various locations, through a single port, is needed. Many medical procedures involve the use of needles, but targeting accuracy can be limited due to obstacles in the needle's path, shifts in target position caused by tissue deformation, and undesired bending of the needle after insertion. </p><p> In order to address these limitations, we have developed a system that can actively steer a needle in soft tissue. We have designed and built a medical device with a steerable tip that carries an ablation probe to adjacent points within tissue under MRI. We test our steerable guide in a test apparatus using a block of phantom tissue. It is worthy to note that deviation from the path of the model data is never more than 0.41 mm.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1601955 |
| Date | 06 November 2015 |
| Creators | Rezapour, Mahmood |
| Publisher | Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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