Since 2017 Elitac has been working in collaboration with the neurosurgery department of the academical hospital in Utrecht (UMCU) to develop a T-shirt that will assist neurosurgeons while drilling in the skull of a patient. The NeuroShirt will provide tactile feedback to display real-time information on location and distance of tissues and structures. On the 7th of June 2018, Elitac was present at the Symposium for the Dutch Association of Neurosurgery Assistants. The goal was to introduce neurosurgery assistants to the NeuroShirt and gather knowledge for further development.
The Neuroshirt is developed by Elitac and UMCU. This shirt is designed to assist a NeuroSurgeon while drilling in the skull of a patient. The NeuroShirt is intended to decrease the visual load of a neurosurgeon by using the sense of touch to give information on the location and distance of critical structures, this allows the surgeon to switch less between visual tasks and still receive accurate feedback. Different vibration patterns will indicate the location and distance of critical structures.
Symposium for the Dutch Association of Neurosurgery assistants
At the symposium, Elitac had the opportunity to present the NeuroShirt for the first time to neurosurgeons in training. Two demonstrators have been developed to show the intended functions of the shirt. The assistants could try the prototype shirt, while drilling in a virtual skull.
The demonstrators received a lot of attention and gave us many insights and practical tips on how to improve interaction and product. We are excited to implement this knowledge into further research and development of the NeuroShirt.
The NeuroShirt is developed with financial support from the European Union and “Kansen voor West”.
