AI-powered brain surgery becomes a reality in Hong Kong after launch from state-run research centre
- The Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, completed successful trials of a robot that treats brain tumours
- The centre faces challenges from US sanctions that restrict access to advanced AI chips, but its director says ‘Chinese companies will catch up’
A Hong Kong-based research centre under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China’s national research institute, plans to launch a robotics system for brain surgery in the near future, despite challenges from a shortage of talent and artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
The Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), established in 2019, has completed three successful cadaver trials with its MicroNeuro robot, which can perform deep brain surgery “in a minimally invasive manner”, Liu Hongbin, the centre’s executive director, told the Post in an interview on Thursday.
The main approach today requires surgeons to operate with rigid tools and open large windows on a patient’s scalp, which damages a lot of healthy brain tissue, Liu said.
“Brain surgery is a type of surgery that needs technology the most because it’s a very dangerous procedure,” Liu said. “Surgeons really want to use AI and tech innovation to make this type of procedure much less invasive than it is now.”
CAIR’s robotic system allows surgeons to use a tiny flexible instrument and a navigation system powered by AI and augmented reality, which reduces brain tissue damage by at least 50 per cent, he added.
