The Singapore General Hospital and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have jointly developed a Prostate Robotic System that will improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostrate cancer, the fifth most common cancer in Singaporean men. The Prostate Robotic System is a robotic biopsy and potential radioactive seed treatment delivery system designed by a group of professors and students from NTU’s School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, in collaboration with clinicians at SGH’s Department of Urology.
The 15-member SGH-NTU team is jointly led by Dr Christopher Cheng, Head of Department of Urology, SGH and Associate Professor Ng Wan Sing from NTU’s School of Mechanical and Production Engineering.
The Prostate Robotic System can be used to define cancerous areas in the prostate and guide biopsy protocols. This improves upon present diagnosis methods for prostate cancer, which is difficult to detect due to the location and behaviour of the prostate gland.
The system has potential use in the localised treatment of prostate cancer by placing radioactive seeds into cancerous areas in the prostate. Using the Prostate Robotic System to diagnose prostate cancer With the Robotic System, ultrasound images obtained will be used to generate a three-dimensional computerized model of the prostate. The 3-D model can then be rotated and magnified, allowing the urologist to obtain a comprehensive perspective of the prostate and hence better define biopsy sampling areas.
Based on the selected biopsy areas, the Robotic System will recommend suitable needle trajectories (pathways) in order to arrive at the defined positions. These planned trajectories can be computer-simulated, allowing the urologist to review the planned procedure before giving the go-ahead for the robot to perform the actual biopsy. By making it possible to accurately place a needle according to a biopsy protocol, the Robotic System is expected to significantly increase the reliability of prostate biopsy for cancer detection.
Initial clinical trials conducted at SGH’s Urology Department have shown that the Robotic System achieved a consistent accuracy of ±1.5mm from the intended biopsy spot, a significant improvement over current manual methods. In cases where multiple areas in a prostate are suspected to be cancerous, the Robotic System requires only a single puncture point to perform multiple biopsies unlike current methods which require multiple punctures. This results in less damage to healthy tissue, less pain and trauma for the patient, and a faster recovery time.