Bristol hospital friends raise £270,000 for robot

A £270,000 robot for brain surgery has been bought for Frenchay Hospital by a group of supporters.

The hi-tech equipment could revolutionise the care given to people with brain conditions and diseases when it is moved to the hospital in several months' time.

The neuromate robot at Frenchay will be only the second to be used in the UK and one of only 11 in the world.

Clinical trials are due to start at the hospital next year but it is believed that the robot could be used to repair the damage caused by Parkinson's disease and to deliver chemotherapy directly to brain tumours in the future.

Experts at Frenchay also believe that the robot could be used on patients with Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's.

In the short term the new equipment will also improve the way procedures such as deep brain stimulation are carried out, which Frenchay has an international reputation for.

The neuromate was bought for the hospital by the Friends of Frenchay group, who have purchased more than £3.5-million worth of equipment for different departments in the past 20 years alone.

The robot has been made by Renishaw, based in Wotton-under-Edge, and the support group was shown the equipment yesterday as part of a tour of the site.

Neurosurgeon at Frenchay Hospital, Professor Steven Gill said the equipment will make it possible to insert very thin tubes into the brain to deliver drugs to the affected area.

Previously it has not been possible to do this because there is something called the blood brain barrier which prevents drugs getting through. The 0.2mm-wide catheters attached to the robotic arm are able to penetrate through the barrier to deliver treatments to the precise spot where they are needed.

It will be used in conjunction with a screen that will pinpoint where the tubes should be placed on a patient's head.

Professor Gill and his colleagues have been working on the project since 2001 but the new equipment will enable them to test the process on patients from next year.

In all areas the robot will mean that neurosurgeons can be more accurate because human error will be eliminated by the precision of the machine which instruments are attached to.

Professor Gill said: "This is the future. This donation from Friends of Frenchay is critical in us moving forward.

"It puts us in the forefront of this type of technology worldwide and people will look at us to bring these therapies to a greater population.

"I am so grateful to the Friends of Frenchay for this generous donation."

The Friends of Frenchay voluntary group was set up in 1960 to buy additional items requested by clinicians and members said they are likely to continue supporting it when it is downgraded to a community hospital in five years. Some of the group members have been involved since the early days, including current treasurer, Diana Grove, 84, of Downend.

She said: "We are all very proud to have helped the hospital so much."

In more recent years the bulk of money has come from bequests and regular donations from supporters, but they used to hold car boot sales and jumble sales for the cause and received donations from local school. Anyone who wants to help Friends of Frenchay can contact 956 6916.