‘Molecularly aware’ robotics to improve cancer surgeries

The proposed platform will combine the use of a surgical laser, microscope and molecular analysis device, allowing for faster and more accurate identification and removal of cancerous cells. 

Principal investigator Dr Zoltan Takats, professor of analytical chemistry at Imperial, explained how the EPSRC-funded project, named MARS (Molecularly Aware Robotics for Surgery) formed as a continuation of his work over the last ten years around mass spectrometry guided surgery. 

“Throughout the years, it became more and more clear that the adoption of the technology is not happening not because there is no need for it, but because the environment where it would fit doesn’t exist yet,” he told The Engineer. 

Takats said that the team began to explore deploying the mass spectrometry imaging method for molecular analysis in surgical robotics and surgical navigation, finding that this had potential to deliver numerous benefits compared with a traditional open surgery approach.