MRI-compatible robotic surgery, Automation and Interventional Medicine (AIM) Lab, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

Greg Fischer, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is developing robotic systems that will allow surgeons to operate with the guidance of real-time MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) images. Robots under development will precisely place electrodes for deep-brain stimulation and the insert radioactive pellets to treat prostate cancer. The interior of an MRI scanner, which uses strong magnets and radio waves, is a difficult environment for robots, which cannot be made of metal or use electronic components.

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