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Minimally Invasive Surgeries Enhanced with Robotic Assistant

Innovative Technology Allows for Faster Recovery, Less Scarring

 San Diego, CA – Surgeons at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego have a new assistant in the operating room named ROSA™, a highly advanced surgical robot assistant. ROSA™ has a computer “brain” for 3-D imaging and a robotic arm that directs surgical instruments with extreme accuracy.

ROSA™’s innovative technology can be used in epilepsy surgery and other neurological procedures, ranging from tumor biopsies to deep brain stimulation for movement disorders, without the need for an invasive craniotomy.The Rosa robotic assistant.

“We are one of the first five children’s hospitals in the country to obtain this device. ROSA™ enables us to do faster, more precise, more exact operations in a minimally invasive fashion,” said Dr. David Gonda, director of epilepsy surgery at Rady Children’s. “As we move into the future, neurosurgery is becoming less and less invasive through smaller incisions with faster recoveries and this robot is part of that.”

For epilepsy surgery, ROSA™ helps the surgeon to place a series of very fine electrodes deep within the brain to detect where seizures are coming from. The procedure involves the use of a laser catheter carefully inserted into the brain through a small hole in the skull.  Using ROSA™ not only improves the precision of the procedure, but reduces the time required in surgery. In addition, young patients enjoy minimal sutures (typically one stitch), quicker recovery time and reduced scarring.

Click here to watch an informational video on ROSA.

Media Contact:
Carlos Delgado
(858) 966-4901 |cdelgado@rchsd.org