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The thought of surgery is frightening enough; the thought of brain surgery can be terrifying. But, what if your surgeon could do a practice run on your brain surgery on a simulator, much like the ones pilots use to learn how to fly. We don’t have to wonder any longer because it’s now been done, by Canadian doctors.
The complexity of brain surgery lies in the very tiny and precise work areas the surgeons have. Distinct parts of the brain are responsible for various tasks, such as speech, smell and coordination. One wrong move and the patient may be severely affected in many ways. But, by having a practice session in a simulator, surgeons could figure out the best way to approach the surgery and practice where they can touch and where they can’t.
A 48-year-old grandmother, Ellen Wright, had to have a benign (non-cancerous) tumor removed from her brain. In her case, the tumor was close to her area of speech. Tumors often aren’t left in the brain, even if they aren’t cancerous, because they can grow and put pressure on the brain, causing a multitude of problems.
In order to use the simulator, the doctors had to take multiple magnetic resonance images (MRIs) to make a virtual reality-type scenario for the surgeons. The simulator was designed so the surgeon can feel the difference in tissue and even the slight vibration of the instruments.
Who’d have thought that the video gaming generation could end up as neurosurgeons?
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Images: Newscom.com and PhotoXpress.com
