What You Should Know
- The Milestone: Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has successfully performed the UAE’s first robotic-assisted stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) procedures, a major leap forward from the manual, frame-based methods used previously.
- The Tech: Traditionally, epilepsy diagnostics required bolting a rigid metal frame to the patient’s skull. The new robotic system allows for frameless, millimetric precision, significantly reducing patient discomfort and surgery time.
- The Impact: This technology is critical for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. By implanting thin electrodes deep into the brain with robotic accuracy, doctors can pinpoint the exact origin of seizures that standard scans (MRI, PET-CT) miss, paving the way for curative surgery.
Why “Robotic” Matters in Brain Surgery
The procedure is designed for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, where standard scans like MRI or scalp EEG fail to identify the seizure’s origin. In these cases, surgeons must place electrodes deep inside the brain to “listen” for the electrical storm that triggers a seizure.
The difference between the old way and the new way is stark:
- The Old Way (Frame-Based): Required a bulky head frame for stability.
- The New Way (Robotic): A robotic arm guides the insertion of thin electrodes along pre-planned trajectories. This allows for a “frameless” experience that is faster, less invasive, and more accurate.
Since adopting the technology, the hospital has already completed three procedures, signaling that this is now an active clinical service line, not just a one-off experiment.
“Bringing the robotic SEEG procedure to the UAE is more than just adopting new technology,” said Dr. Georges-Pascal Haber, CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. “We are giving people with epilepsy access to safer, more precise diagnostics that can change the course of their care.”
A Level 4 Capability
This advancement cements Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s status as the UAE’s first Level 4 Epilepsy Center—the highest designation for epilepsy care. Dr. Florian Roser, Chief Medical Officer, led the procedure alongside a specialized team including Dr. Tanmoy Maiti, Dr. Mohamad Ayman Haykal, and Dr. Eugene Achi.
“The Robotic SEEG procedure represents a smarter and smoother approach,” said Dr. Roser. “It allows us to tailor our approach to each patient’s unique brain anatomy… improving accuracy and efficiency.”
