Bionic-Brain: Training system for transsphenoidal surgery

Abstract

We developed "Bionic-Brain" which was equipped with cranial base module to train for transsphenoidal surgery. In the transsphenoidal surgery training, an endoscope and a curette are inserted through the nose and sphenoid sinus to remove tumors from the pituitary gland. For training of transsphenoidal surgery, Bionic-Brain consist of a basal platform of the head, a skin, and the cranial base module including the nasal septum, sphenoidal bone, cavernous sinuses (several ten μm), carotid arteries, cranial nerves, the brain with the pituitary gland, and the dura mater. From series of simulated operation by medical surgeon, we confirmed that the fabricated cranial base module was similar to the anatomical structure. In this paper, we will also describe Bionic-Brain that senses the load on each organ parts for the operation evaluation during transsphenoidal surgery.