Under the direction of Dr Frank Bova, Distinguished Professor, the Stereotactic Radiosurgery Lab in the Department of Neurosurgery at the McKnight Brain Institute is equipped with:
- High-end work station computers
- Stereotactic equipment for frame as well as frameless image guided surgery
- Three-dimensional ultrasound imaging instrument
- Both additive and subtractive rapid prototyping printers
- Multiple mixed reality surgical simulators and other equipment
This enables the lab to support a variety of types of studies.
Projects
Rapid Prototyping Equipment
Initiated by an NIH R01 grant to support research into an entirely new method of stereotactic guidance for surgery the lab has been developing just-in-time manufacturing methods for surgical implants. This method involves the use of “rapid prototyping equipment.” Preoperative cranial or spinal scans are transferred to the lab’s computer system and the lab’s proprietary software is used to select a surgical pathway for surgery. The rapid prototyping machine then manufacturers a special guide which, after sterilization, can be used in surgery to precisely identify the correct location of skin, bone, intra cranial structures during surgery. This support extends to the manufacture of custom cranioplasty for patient implantation.
Techniques and Equipment
The lab is conducting experiments to develop and evaluate techniques and equipment to be used in image-guided radiation therapy (CT, MRI and ultrasound), intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiosurgery, image-guided surgery and stereotactic surgery, image guided large animal surgery, and mixed reality simulation.
The lab also collaborates with UF Neurosurgery faculty in the areas of vascular repair, development of new neurosurgical surgical instrumentation and laser initiated thermal therapy. The lab maintains long term collaborations with the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering involving robotics and imaging.