Donation to UAMS Funds New Neurosurgical Robot Acquisition

By Ben Boulden

Serletis demonstrates how the visual display on the ROSA works.

Serletis gets ready to demonstrate how the ROSA works.

Aug. 8, 2014 | Through a donation of $402,000 by the late Edwin “Brad” Bradberry, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Medical Center recently purchased a neurosurgical robot, ROSA, to be used in stereotactic procedures for epilepsy and oncology.

 

Use of the device makes procedures less invasive, significantly shorter, and much safer by improving surgical accuracy, while minimizing the risks of pain or infection.

 

UAMS is one of only five medical centers in the United States to have a ROSA (Robotized Stereotactic Assistant). Stereotactic surgery uses a three-dimensional coordinate system to locate small targets in the body for minimally invasive surgery

 

Neurosurgeon and epilepsy specialist Demitre Serletis, M.D., Ph.D., leads the Epilepsy Surgery Program in the UAMS Department of Neurosurgery and is an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine.

 

“By integrating cutting-edge robotic technology such as the ROSA device into the university’s comprehensive Epilepsy Surgery Program, the Bradberrys’ contribution goes a long way toward developing an even greater standard of exceptional patient care and research at our center, the newly established Edwin and Karlee Bradberry Center for Robotic Neurosurgery,” said Serletis.

 

A Crossett native and Fayetteville resident, Brad Bradberry had a decades-long career in the petroleum industry. He also served as vice chair of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board, a member of the Advisory Board of the UAMS Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute and a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He donated the funds for the ROSA just a few months before he passed away June 16.

 

“Dad was very committed to the ROSA project,” said Bob Bradberry, the son of Brad and Karlee Bradberry. “He was very concerned when it became obvious that his declining health would prevent him from attending the Little Rock dedication of ROSA originally scheduled for June 13. He worried about the postponement of the dedication because his primary goal was not to be honored but to spread the word as rapidly as possible that this kind of exceptional treatment was available to patients in Arkansas. Our family is proud to continue Dad’s efforts to support the benefits of ROSA to patients at UAMS.”

 

ROSA has a robotic arm that features high dexterity for surgically precise movements, and also employs a noninvasive laser for accurate measurements that together provide a type of “GPS for the brain,” according to Montpellier, France-based Medtech, which designed and manufactured the technology. It gives the neurosurgeon the ability to guide the instruments manually and easily within limits and restrictions established during the planning phase. The ROSA also offers an upgradable technology that allows for continual improvement and other neurosurgical applications.

 

“Not only will the ROSA improve patient safety and health, it also will save time during neurosurgery,” said UAMS Medical Center CEO Roxane Townsend, M.D. “Increased efficiency in the operating room while also improving care is a plus for the patient, the medical center and the neurosurgeon. The ROSA is an example of how we are looking and finding new technologies that enhance the patient- and family-centered care that the medical center provides.”