Research

MRI-guided Focal Laser Ablation for Prostate Cancer Treatment

Principal investigator: Zion TSE
Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies in males and has now become the second leading cause of cancer mortality. Prostate cancer diagnosis has increased from 3.9% to 8.2% of the population in the past decade. Approximately 52,300 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the United Kingdom every year, which is equivalent to more than 140 cases every day. In this study, a robotic platform used for MRI-guided prostate therapy, including both biopsy and ablation, will be developed and validated. As compared to all the listed MR-safe robot platforms, the presented design will have a compact size. This allows it to be placed inside the MRI scanner more conveniently, making the therapy process more efficient. Moreover, the use of pneumatic stepper actuators will reduce the affection of EMI generated by piezoelectric motors, and all the other parts are made of plastic, which makes the whole system MR safe.