Pathfinder

Pathfinder is a –surgical- robot produced by Armstrong Healthcare. It is a six-axis revolute robot and offers the potential of providing the accuracy of a stereotactic frame while using unobtrusive skin markers. It has microhead CCD camera mounted on its final axis, which is used to locate fiducial markers on the patient.

With its long reach and freedom of positioning, PathFinder can access lesions anywhere within the cranium. PathFinder is the ideal solution for accessing deep-seated structures for functional neurosurgery, and facilitates leading-edge developments where accuracy is a key. Mounted on the final axis is a snap-fit tool holder, which can accept standard neurosurgical instruments, such as a biopsy needle. When the surgeon wants to use the Pathfinder, he needs to specify a target and a trajectory on a medical image. In this sense use of PathFinder involves two stages: pre-operative planning and surgical implementation. Pathfinder has a variety of safety features, such as a foot-pedal that the surgeon must press to allow the robot to move, secondary encoders on all axes and an embedded processor dedicated to checking the safety critical functions. Verification of the accuracy of PathFinder is required prior to clinical trials.