Using a robot to perform brain surgery sounds pretty futuristic. But by combining technology used in outer space with the latest advances in medicine, a team of scientists led by a University of Calgary neurosurgeon is doing just that. 

NeuroArm, the world’s first MRI-compatible surgical robot, was unveiled this spring at the U of C, leading a revolution in the precision surgeons will have in operating rooms of the future. 

“Many of our micro-surgical techniques evolved in the 1960s and ’70s and have reached the point where surgeons have been pushed to their limits,” says U of C’s Dr. Garnette Sutherland. 

Using technology similar to the Canadarm on NASA’s space shuttles and the world’s most advanced magnetic resonance imaging systems, neuroArm allows surgeons to work far beyond the constraints of their hand-eye coordination. 

The project has also opened doors to other medical advancements. Molecular biologist Isabelle Latour joined the team in 2004 as a student to develop nanotechnology marker molecules to differentiate tumour cells from healthy ones—for cell-specific therapy or surgical removal at the microscopic level. 

“Being involved in this project is so exciting because I know the work I’m doing is going to have a direct impact on people’s health,” Latour says. “You don’t often get that.”

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