Desai Interviewed for NAE Broadcast

Department of Mechanical Engineering Professor Jaydev Desai and his work in neurosurgical robotics was featured in a National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and WTOP Radio interview.

Desai and his colleagues have developed a robot that could be used for minimally invasive brain surgery and could lessen the physical impact on patients during critical brain operations. The finger-like robot, roughly four inches long and a half inch in diameter, can be used with an MRI machine so the tumor is seen in real time. The robot, which is controlled remotely by the physician, enters the brain through a small tube and destroys the growth.

According to Desai, the robot is, "basically just zapping the tumor tissue. And then you want to suck the debris out, as it’s completing the job." Because MRI machines are too cumbersome for a standard operating room, Desai's robot, which can be used in an MRI room, enables the physician to use MRI imaging to see inside the patient's brain without having to create a large incision.

Listen to the complete interview on NAE's website.

For more information on Professor Desai, please visit his faculty profile.

Published October 18, 2013