Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 31;9(1):1023. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37073-w.
Over the last few decades, a plethora of tools has been developed for neuroscientists to interface with the brain. Implementing these tools requires precisely removing sections of the skull to access the brain. These delicate cranial microsurgical procedures need to be performed on the sub-millimeter thick bone without damaging the underlying tissue and therefore, require significant training. Automating some of these procedures would not only enable more precise microsurgical operations, but also facilitate widespread use of advanced neurotechnologies. Here, we introduce the "Craniobot", a cranial microsurgery platform that combines automated skull surface profiling with a computer numerical controlled (CNC) milling machine to perform a variety of cranial microsurgical procedures on mice. The Craniobot utilizes a low-force contact sensor to profile the skull surface and uses this information to perform precise milling operations within minutes. We have used the Craniobot to perform intact skull thinning and open small to large craniotomies over the dorsal cortex.
在过去的几十年中，已经开发出了许多工具，让神经科学家可以与大脑进行交互。实现这些工具需要精确地去除颅骨的一部分，以接触大脑。这些精细的颅微创手术需要在亚毫米厚的骨头上进行，而不能损坏下面的组织，因此，需要进行大量的训练。自动化执行其中的一些手术不仅可以使手术更加精确，还可以促进先进神经技术的广泛应用。在这里，我们介绍了“颅机器人”，这是一个颅骨微创手术平台，它将自动颅骨表面轮廓和计算机数控（CNC）铣床结合在一起，可在小鼠身上执行各种颅骨微创手术。颅机器人利用低力接触传感器来描绘颅骨表面，并利用这些信息在几分钟内进行精确的铣削操作。我们已经使用颅机器人进行了完整颅骨变薄，并在背侧皮层上进行了小到大的开颅手术。
