Sensor helps in aneurysm treatment

, working with Prof. Hideo Fujimoto’s research team in the graduate school of

, has developed a force sensing system to be used in cerebral aneurysm treatment.

The system measures and displays any minute force from the fingertips of a surgeon manipulating a very thin wire, which is only 0.3mm in diameter, passed through a catheter in cerebral arteries during minimally invasive treatment of aneurysms.

Minimally invasive operations are becoming more prevalent in the medical field because they use a much smaller incision than that in the past to perform the same operation. This reduces trauma of the patient along with the recovery time.

An aneurysm is a bulge, or balloon, in a blood vessel normally occurring near the brain. If left untreated, these aneurysms can burst, causing subarachnoid haemorrhaging.

Coil Embolisation is a procedure used to occlude the cerebral aneurysm, preventing its rupture. In this operation, a catheter is inserted through a vessel near the groin and a small micro catheter is worked to the location of the aneurysm.