Using AI robot to operate on brain tumor to save 5-year-old boy

Baby Phuong Dang has a large brain tumor measuring 5 cm and located 8 cm deep in the brain (almost in the middle of a child's brain). The large tumor is located in the suprasellar region, causing increased intracranial pressure, compressing the optic chiasm, leading to headaches and blurred right eye. A large tumor compressing the pituitary stalk for a long time will affect the baby's endocrine and development, seriously affecting health and life.

Dùng robot AI mổ u não cứu bé trai 5 tuổi - Ảnh 1. — The child was anesthetized before undergoing brain tumor surgery using a robot using artificial intelligence (AI).

The family took Dang to children's hospitals for examination but they could not operate because of the dangerous level of the disease. "The prognosis for the surgery is very difficult, even the doctors do not dare to operate without the support of modern AI (artificial intelligence) robots," said excellent physician, Dr. CKII Chu Tan Si, Head of the Department of Neurosurgery, Neurology Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.

" My dear son, come on!"

Welcoming little Dang, Master - Doctor CKII Le Hoang Quan, Department of Anesthesia and Resuscitation, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, gently said: "My dear son, be good. I will help you sleep and then your headache will go away, you will be able to see more clearly and run and play with your friends. Do you like it?" Little Phuong Dang seemed to understand, holding his mother's hands, obediently listening. The door to the operating room closed, the boy lay still, then fell asleep under the effects of anesthesia.

Dùng robot AI mổ u não cứu bé trai 5 tuổi - Ảnh 2. — Doctors are performing brain tumor surgery on a pediatric patient using the Modus V Synaptive Robot.

Dr. Hoang Quan said that, compared to adults, neurosurgical anesthesia for children is much more difficult, because it must ensure homeostasis for the child's immature nervous system while also ensuring the requirements for surgery. For large brain tumors located deep in the brain in children, the risk of bleeding leading to blood loss is high. Therefore, anesthesiologists must carefully assess risk factors before surgery, plan for blood reserves, and anticipate all possible risks.

Children undergoing brain tumor surgery are also at risk of cerebral edema, epilepsy, and diabetes insipidus during and after surgery. The team must calculate the medication plan, closely monitor urine output, and conduct on-site testing to ensure safety. The post-operative resuscitation plan must be meticulous and accurate.

Dùng robot AI mổ u não cứu bé trai 5 tuổi - Ảnh 3. — Doctor Chu Tan Si visits baby Phuong Dang recovering after surgery

AI robot helps simulate surgery in advance

Before starting the surgery, Dr. Tan Si reviewed the medical records and diagnostic images. The doctor said that thanks to the Modus V Synaptive AI Robot and the Neuro-Navigation AI system, the team was confident in approaching and safely removing the tumor located 8 cm deep in the brain, increasing the success rate.

Before surgery, the AI Modus V Synaptive Robot harmonizes the MRI, DTI, CT, DSA images... of baby Dang. The entire brain structure, nerve fiber bundles and tumors are clearly displayed on the same 3D image. Doctor Tan Si simulates the surgery on the robot's specialized software, choosing the position to open the skull, the safest surgical approach to the tumor, avoiding cutting the wrong nerve conduction bundle and surrounding healthy brain tissue. This is an outstanding advantage of the robot that traditional brain surgery techniques do not have.

Modus V Synaptive is currently the first and only sophisticated AI-based brain surgery robot in Vietnam.

At exactly 9 o'clock, the actual surgery began. During the actual surgery, the doctor continued to clearly see the entire brain structure. The robot "double checked" by monitoring each of the doctor's actions to ensure compliance with the established surgical path. The robot would warn with green, red, and yellow lights like traffic lights. The doctors also combined the new generation of microsurgical glasses with 3D fluorescence imaging function, helping the doctor to clearly see the entire brain structure with a wider viewing angle.

Dr. Mai Hoang Vu, a member of the surgical team, said that when entering the skull, the tumor spread to many branches, each branch was covered by a thick layer of arachnoid membrane. The tumor was soft, tough, had some friable areas, and bled easily. The doctor removed each branch of the tumor in a glove-like manner (lifting the arachnoid membrane layer by layer to remove each branch of the tumor). To safely remove the tumor, the doctor used a specialized CUSA ultrasound machine to break up the tumor and suck out each small piece, avoiding removing the whole mass and causing brain impact.

The surgery lasted 3 hours, the doctor removed 90% of the tumor. Some small tumor parts attached to the pituitary stalk and carotid artery will be treated with additional gamma knife radiosurgery. After surgery, the patient no longer has headaches, sees better, relieves increased intracranial pressure, preserves the optic nerve, and eliminates the risk of compression of the pituitary gland and pituitary stalk. The sample was sent for cell analysis and additional treatment guidance.

bursting with happiness

Sitting in the waiting room, Ms. Thu Van was anxious and nervous. She said that more than a year ago, her child often complained of headaches and blurred vision. At school, the teacher said that the child could only see up close and was not confident in walking. She went to many places for examination but only got glasses and then everything went back to normal. Anxious, Ms. Van did some research and took her child to Tam Anh General Hospital for examination, where she discovered a large brain tumor that required surgery.

"Dang's surgery was successful, the family will see him in 10 minutes", at 13:00 the same day, the nurse's voice broke the silence. The patient's family burst into joy and happiness.

"After more than 5 hours of waiting, nervously, praying to God and Buddha, there were times when I felt like I was suffocating. When I got to see my child, call him, see him awake, hear and react by kicking his legs. Tears fell from both mother and child," Ms. Thu Van choked with joy.

Doctor Tan Si shared that the surgery was successful, not only the relatives were happy but the doctors were also extremely happy. This was a difficult brain tumor case, the youngest patient ever operated on by a robot at Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City. The surgery had high risks of blood loss, cerebral edema, etc., so it was very challenging for the doctors. This is also one of about 40 recent cases in which Tam Anh General Hospital used AI robots to operate on brain tumors, pituitary tumors, nerve tumors, spinal tumors, and hemorrhagic strokes.

"If surgery is performed using traditional methods such as Navigation, microsurgery, etc., the tumor can still be removed, but the risk of damaging nerve fibers and healthy brain tissue can be high. Robots help overcome this limitation," said Dr. Tan Si.

The only AI brain surgery robot in Vietnam

Currently, only 10 countries apply the Modus V Synaptive brain surgery robot (mostly European and American countries). In Vietnam, the only Modus V Synaptive robot is put into operation at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Doctor Chu Tan Si and his colleagues are the only team in Vietnam with expertise in operating and mastering this robot technology.

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