Robotic-guided minimally-invasive cochleostomy: first results

Due to increasing claims on high precision surgery, robotic assistance is becoming an emerging and highly demanded technology. Especially in surgical procedures in regions with complex anatomy mechatronical devices could help prevent iatrogen damaging of risk structures. In Otolaryngology particular cochlear implantation is a procedure characterized by a high degree of complexity and required accuracy. This surgery, which is accepted to be the most suitable solution for recovery from deafness, demands a exactly localized opening of the cochlea and an atraumatic insertion of a stimulating electrode array within the scala tympani. This paper presents a new minimally-invasive method for the preparation of the implant’s slot using a combination of high resolution imaging, stereo-optical navigation and a robotic manipulator. In this contribution, we introduce the hardware components of the system as well as its software structure and present first experimental results of a robot assisted minimal invasive cochleostomy.