Traditional surgical treatments for intracranial lesions often include a craniotomy for resection, which requires a large surgical incision. Recent advancements in technology are now enabling minimally invasive approaches, one of which is called Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT). In LITT, a laser probe is inserted into a tumor, and it is essentially heated from the inside-out, destroying it. Currently, LITT surgical platforms are restricted to only deploying the laser probe along a straight pathway. This limits treatment capabilities, often leaving edges of tumors that are large or geometrically complex, untreated. In this work, we have designed the Port Delivery Cannula System (PDCS) for tools that are not inherently steerable for LITT and other neurosurgical procedures. The PDCS is MRI-compatible, biocompatible, thermometry compatible, and seamlessly integrates within an FDA approved LITT surgical platform.

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This work is supported by Medtronic External Research Program (ERP) under Grant No. 310856.

Collaborators

Eric Leuthardt (Washington University in Saint Louis, Department of Neurosurgery)