In Collaboration with
Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics
Humans and Autonomy Lab
Intelligent Motion Lab
Duke Immersive Virtual Environment
HOUSED WITHIN
Duke Robotics
about
In 2015, the Brain Tool Laboratory was established by Dr. Patrick Codd as a collaboration between the Department of Neurosurgery and the Pratt School of Engineering. Since that time, engineers and neurosurgeons have worked together to tackle some of the most difficult problems facing the surgical community. Fostering a true atmosphere of collaboration, the Brain Tool Laboratory is in a unique position to bring about significant change to the field of surgical robotics.
Through a careful examination of surgical operations, researchers approach each problem by stripping away the physical and mental constraints imposed by decades of traditional surgical methodology. In this manner, the Brain Tool Laboratory is able to advance the field of surgical robotics while keeping patient benefit and overall device value as its highest priorities.
People
Dr. Patrick Codd
Neurosurgery Faculty
patrick.codd [at] dm.duke.edu
Wes Ross
Graduate Student
weston.ross[at] duke.edu
Matt Tucker
Graduate Student
matthew.b.tucker[at] duke.edu
Dr. Kimberly Hoang
Neurosurgery Resident
kimberly.hoang [at] dm.duke.edu
Lefko Charalambous
Medical Student
lefko.charalambous[at]
duke.edu
Dr. Shervin Rahimpour
Neurosurgery Resident
shervin.rahimpour[at]duke.edu
Dr. Andrew Cutler
Neurosurgery Resident
andrew.cutler[at]duke.edu
Guangshen Ma
Graduate Student
guangshen.ma[at] duke.edu
Sreekar Mantena
High School Student
mantena18s[at] ncssm.edu
Neil Cornwell
Undergraduate Student
ncornwe[at]
ncsu.edu
Eamon Bracht
Undergraduate Student
ebracht2[at]
illinois.edu
Catherine Wallace
Medical Student
catwallace[at]
augusta.edu
Narendran Narasimhan
Undergraduate Student
narendran.narasimhan[at]
duke.edu
Lab Alumni
Wes Hill
Graduate Student
westin.hill [at] duke.edu
David Britton
Graduate Student
david.britton [at] lawnet.duke.edu
Dr. Avra Laarakker
Neurosurgery Research Aide
avra.laarakker[at]
duke.edu
looking to join the team?
Current Research
Neurosurgical Hololens Adaptation
Two ambitious surgical residents recently had a proposal for the HoloLens Development Kit accepted by Microsoft. This success inspired a collaboration with Dr. Regis Kopper in the Duke Immersive Virtual Environment. Together, our team is exploring new applications for augmented reality in neurosurgery – stay posted for updates. Congratulations to Shervin Rahimpour and Andrew Cutler for a Read more about Neurosurgical Hololens Adaptation[…]
A Device for Nonlinear Surgical Access
Decades of using rigid tooling has trained surgeons to plan for the linear surgical approach. Our team is attempting to provide alternatives to surgeons such that they can comfortably take the less-invasive, nonlinear trajectory. Based on Dr. Codd’s experience in concentric tube robotics, we have set the ventricles as our design space with the overall goal Read more about A Device for Nonlinear Surgical Access[…]
Automated Tumor Resection
A rift is opening between a surgeon’s improving ability to perceive minute details through increasingly-higher-resolution imaging modalities and the relatively-unchanging accuracy of delivering surgical action. In order to take advantage of small-scale perception, advances in instrumentation must allow for tissue removal at similar levels of precision. Consequently, laser technology has begun to make inroads into Read more about Automated Tumor Resection[…]