The ROBOCAST project focuses on robot assisted keyhole neurosurgery. This surgery is carried out for several interventions, from endoscopy to biopsy and deep brain stimulation. Needles and catheters are inserted into the brain through the tiny hole for biopsy and therapy, including, among others the tasks of blood/fluid sampling, tissue biopsy, cryogenic and electrolytic ablation, brachytherapy, deep brain stimulation (DBS), diagnostic imaging, and a number of other minimally invasive surgical procedures. Related pathologies are tumours, hydrocephalus, dystonia, essential tremor, Parkinson’s Disease, Tourette Syndrome, clinical depression,  phantom limb pain, cluster headache and epilepsy.

The ROBOCAST project is funded by the European Union, the international consortium is composed of the following institutes: Politecnico of Milan (Bioenginering Department), University of Verona (Department of Neurological and Vision Sciences), University of Siena (SIRSLab - Robotics and System Lab), Imperial College (Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering), Prosurgics Ltd., The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Laboratory for CAS and Medical Image Processing), Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering), Mazor Surgical Technologies Ltd., Technische Universität München (Lehrstuhl für Computeranwendungen in der Medizin - Institut für Informatik), Universität Karlsruhe (TH) (Institute for Process Control and Robotics), CF Consulting - Finanziamenti Unione Europea S.r.l