A miniaturized ultrasonic micro-hole perforator for minimally invasive craniotomy
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2023
Abstract
Objective: Micro-hole perforation on skull is urgently desired for minimally invasive insertion of micro-tools in brain for diagnostic or treatment purpose. However, a micro drill bit would easily fracture, making it difficult to safely generate a micro-hole on the hard skull. Methods: In this study, we present a method for ultrasonic vibration assisted micro-hole perforation on skull in a manner similar to subcutaneous injection on soft tissue. For this purpose, a high amplitude miniaturized ultrasonic tool with a 500 mu m tip diameter micro-hole perforator was developed with simulation and experimental characterization. In-depth investigation of micro-hole generation mechanism was performed with systematic experiments on animal skull with a bespoke test rig; effects of vibration amplitude and feed rate on hole forming characteristics were systematically studied. It was observed that by exploiting skull bone's unique structural and material properties, the ultrasonic micro-perforator could locally damage bone tissue with micro-porosities, induce sufficient plastic deformation to bone tissue around the micro-hole and refrain elastic recovery after tool withdraw, generating a micro-hole on skull without material. Results: Under optimized conditions, high quality micro-holes could be formed on the hard skull with a force (<1 N) even smaller than that for subcutaneous injection on soft skin. Conclusion: This study would provide a safe and effective method and a miniaturized device for micro-hole perforation on skull for minimally invasive neural interventions.
Keywords
Ultrasonic vibration, Bio-manufacturing, Skull bone, Craniotomy, Micro-hole forming, Bio-composite
Divisions
fsktm
Funders
Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province 2021A1515011818,Shenzhen Science and Technology Program JCYJ20220530145600001,National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 52003305,Foundation of Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology and Biomedical Instrument 2020B1212060077
Publication Title
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
Volume
70
Issue
7
Publisher
IEEE-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc
Publisher Location
445 HOES LANE, PISCATAWAY, NJ 08855-4141 USA