Date:03/02/16
A teenage boy who suffered daily seizures for seven years has had his epilepsy cured after doctors used a robot to create a ‘sat nav’ of his brain. Billy Whitaker, 15, became the first child in the UK to undergo the pioneering treatment after earlier surgery to remove part of his brain failed.
Neurosurgeons used a brand-new £350,000 robot – almost exactly like those used in car factories – to drill electrodes deep into the teenager’s brain. They were then able to pinpoint the epicentre of his debilitating attacks with minute accuracy for the first time.
That enabled surgeons to access and remove the tiny piece of seizure-causing tissue. Since the ground-breaking operation two weeks ago Billy has not had a fit and medics are confident he has been cured for good.
Billy, a keen sportsman, said: "Being seizure-free means I will be able to take part in sports like football and rugby again. "I love playing sport and continue to play golf but since my epilepsy diagnosis I can no longer play for teams as this often increases the number of seizures I have."
Consultant neurosurgeon Michael Carter said: "There were little parts of his brain we suspected were the candidates for causing these residual seizures. "We used the robot to implant a series of electrodes using ultra-high, sub-millimetre precision, into these small areas of the brain, in order to see if his seizures were coming from them.
Teenager Has Epilepsy Cured After Robot Creates ‘Sat Nav’ Of His Brain
A teenage boy who suffered daily seizures for seven years has had his epilepsy cured after doctors used a robot to create a ‘sat nav’ of his brain. Billy Whitaker, 15, became the first child in the UK to undergo the pioneering treatment after earlier surgery to remove part of his brain failed.Neurosurgeons used a brand-new £350,000 robot – almost exactly like those used in car factories – to drill electrodes deep into the teenager’s brain. They were then able to pinpoint the epicentre of his debilitating attacks with minute accuracy for the first time.
That enabled surgeons to access and remove the tiny piece of seizure-causing tissue. Since the ground-breaking operation two weeks ago Billy has not had a fit and medics are confident he has been cured for good.
Billy, a keen sportsman, said: "Being seizure-free means I will be able to take part in sports like football and rugby again. "I love playing sport and continue to play golf but since my epilepsy diagnosis I can no longer play for teams as this often increases the number of seizures I have."
Consultant neurosurgeon Michael Carter said: "There were little parts of his brain we suspected were the candidates for causing these residual seizures. "We used the robot to implant a series of electrodes using ultra-high, sub-millimetre precision, into these small areas of the brain, in order to see if his seizures were coming from them.
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