MIRIAM

MIRIAM is the short name given to a 5 year Robotics project of the Dutch University of Twente. MIRIAM, or Minimally Invasive Robotics in an MRI Environment in full, is the project entailing robot assisted procedures in a working MRI scanner.

Normally, using electronic equipment in the vicinity of an MRI machine is not possible due to the strong magnetic field surrounding it. The project goal is to develop a method to work much more detailed in taking biopsies for prostate cancer and subsequently the treatment of this. In both these cases, a needle has to be inserted in a relatively small problem area, making this difficult and arduous. MIRIAM should improve this drastically by: 

• Using MRI scans as the basis for computer models of the relevant area. This would mean that before the operation the target area can be carefully calculated so that the needles can be inserted optimally. 
• Treating the patient in a working MRI scanner so that constant checking can be done. For safety reasons with regard to the MRI machine this has to be done at a certain distance, making this impossible for human activities.

Not only does MIRIAM provide these advantages, using more technology in surgery lets the surgeon make difficult/delicate movements with high precision.