Projects
Soft tissue overload prevention based on patient-specific biomechanical modeling in robotic minimally invasive surgery Ghent University
Several challenges will be tackled, an important one being the design of a compact and sterilizable force measurement system. Because safety thresholds can only be defined related to local tissue stresses and strains, the acquired instrument forces and displacements will be translated to these local tissue stresses and strains by means of biomechanical models. Due the typical geometric and mechanical variability of biological tissue, it is ...
Epicranial cortical stimulation: development and evaluation of a novel, minimally invasive, neuromodulation method KU Leuven
Invasive cortical stimulation (ICS) is an neuromodulation method in which electrodes are implanted on the cortex to deliver chronic stimulation. ICS has been used to treat neurological disorders such as neuropathic pain, movement disorders and tinnitus. A significant disadvantage of ICS is its highly invasive nature. Noninvasive neuromodulation methods such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial current stimulation show great ...
Development of an Innovative Active Flexible Instrument for ENT Surgery KU Leuven
Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a modern surgical technique where surgeons operate through small incisions, called keyholes, rather than making large cuts to access the patient's organs. MIS is known to reduce patient trauma and shortens recovery time. To reach even lower levels of invasiveness, Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) has been developed. In NOTES, specific sites are accessed by inserting instruments ...
RAMIFY, towards Robot-Assisted Multi-Arm Vocal Fold Surgery KU Leuven
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is an increasingly popular surgical technique that reduces tissue damage and patient trauma, and shortens recovery time. Slender instruments are inserted through a small incision (keyhole) rather than through large open cuts common for conventional open surgery. Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS), a branch of MIS, is even less invasive as instruments are inserted through natural body orifices. Ear, nose, and throat ...
Objectifying performance assessments and personalized rehabilitation trajectories to improve return to work in failed back surgery patients. Ghent University
Treatment of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS) is very complex. However, the incidence of patients that will develops FBSS after lumbar spinal surgery ranges from 10-40%, depending on the type of surgery. For therapy-refractory FBSS, meaning conservative treatment did not achieve adequate pain relief, Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) may serve as minimally invasive treatment. Despite the favourable results of a meta-analysis that SCS is an ...
PASSAGE - Pioneering Autonomous Suturing for Single-port Access surGEry KU Leuven
Unlike conventional minimal invasive surgery (MIS), Single-port access surgery (SPA) utilizes only a single incision or a natural orifice to access the surgical space. While further reducing the risk for morbidity and shortening the recovery period, the single access approach magnifies the technical difficulties such as poor eye-hand coordination, limited vision and haptic feedback, notably in utero repair of open spina bifida. Recently a ...
Integrated approach towards characterization of damage processes in surgery. KU Leuven
Assistive Technology for enhanced execution of Sacrocolpopexy KU Leuven
Surgery is an essential part of health care that helps millions of people lead healthier, more productive lives. In the early years, access to the patient's internal anatomy was mostly achieved by means of a large incision. This led to several complications such as excessive bleeding, increased chances of infection and consequentially high mortality rates after surgery. To address these issues many disciplines transitioned to minimally ...