Making brain surgeries more cost-effective

Bengaluru doctor designs low-cost stereotactic head frame

In brain surgeries, precision is everything — a shift of a few millimetres can make the

difference between a successful surgery and putting a patient in coma. One device that

improves the accuracy of neurosurgery is the stereotactic head frame, which provides 
a 3- dimensional coordinate system to help surgeons get the precise location of a nerve 
or tumour in the brain.

However, the device currently used is prohibitively expensive, costing between  
₹75 lakh to ₹1 crore. A city-based doctor has designed a low-cost stereotactic 
frame which can be used to operate on both sides of the brain at a time, unlike 
conventional  frames currently used in hospitals.

The frame designed by Murali Mohan, senior neurosurgeon with BRAINS Sparsh 
Hospitals, is made of medical grade titanium and costs one-third the current price. 
Engineers Sharath Bhat and Sadashiv Bhat of the Mahalasa Medical Technology, 
Bengaluru, developed the device.

Dr. Mohan's inspiration was the late Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi, known as the 
father of Indian neurosurgery.

The frame which is CE marked (it conforms to European standards) and is pending 
patent, is currently being used by a doctors in around six to seven hospitals in 
Bengaluru and Hyderabad for biopsies and deep brain simulations.

Source: The Hindu