SASKATOON — The new Robotic Stereotactic Assistance (ROSA) robot at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital will make a difference when performing surgeries on patients with epilepsy, according to RUH neurosurgeon Dr. Amir Persad.
The ROSA robot, known as Erin in honour of the granddaughter of donor Merlis Belsher, was part of its first stereotactic robotic epilepsy surgery on March 23.
It acts as a specialized assistant that provides data-driven guidance for implant positioning, soft tissue balancing, and navigating complex anatomy, while the surgeon remains in complete control throughout the operation.
In an interview with SaskToday, Persad compared ROSA to a production line tool.
“The whole principle of this is we put electrodes inside of the brain to record the activity so we can see where seizures start,” he said. “The idea is that if we can figure out if there is a place where seizures start and it’s an area that’s safe to operate on, then we can take it out to cure the seizures.”
The operation used to be completed by hand with a very detailed dialing in of five different co-ordinates per electrode with a frame, he said, which was a lengthy and less-accurate process.
With ROSA, Persad said he still has to program the electrodes he wants into the computer, using the MRI for the patient, but it moves exactly to the direction, angle and distance for each electrode.
“All I have to do as the surgeon is drill a hole for the electrode to go through and then put the electrode in,” said Persad.
The surgical time for the March 23 procedure was about 90 minutes, he said, and the total required time was under four hours, which is much shorter than it used to be. He expects the total time will eventually be approximately three hours. Most patients will only need the procedure once, although some might need it multiple times.
The initial plan is for one procedure a month, he said. More could be done, but the procedure is very involved for the neurologist. The patient needs to remain at the hospital for about two weeks while experiencing their seizures. The information is recorded and read for the electrodes to tell him where the surgery needs to happen.
The patient who had the operation on March 23 is doing “perfect”, Persad said. She only experiences headaches when she’s chewing, and she was quite happy to have the procedure.
Prior to ROSA’s arrival, patients from Saskatchewan requiring the surgery were going to London, Ont., which Persad said is the busiest location in the country for the technology, or Calgary. Montreal and Toronto are other locations where it is available. Edmonton started offering it fairly recently, Vancouver and Halifax are just getting started, and Winnipeg is expected to launch later in the spring.
Centres that have a first-generation version of the technology are still using the same robot, so Persad believes RUH should get 10-15 years out of the machine.
The Royal University Hospital Foundation spearheaded the campaign. Belsher’s family contributed $700,000 of the $1.2 million cost. Belsher is originally from McCord, attended the University of Saskatchewan and has been a business-owner in Saskatoon since the mid-1960s.
“I think this is a big win for the people of Saskatchewan, and any chance I can, I’ll state my gratitude for all of the people who donated, and that’s a huge number of people,” said Persad.
