Some birth defects in newborns could eventually be a thing of the past because of new robotics technologies with micro robotic arm being developed to perform surgery on babies in the womb. Spina bifida is one such disease, affecting approximately One in 2,500 newborns worldwide, where a lesion on the back leaves the spinal cord exposed within the womb, leading to severe disabilities, learning difficulties, and often death. 
 

Either open or Minimally Invasive Surgery on fetuses continues to be effective in treating some conditions to date, however for spina bifida, the potential risks to mother and baby mean surgical treatment is currently only performed in a handful of countries, where specialist teams exist. View into the womb through a laparoscope showing an unborn baby's hand. Open surgery and laparoscopic keyhole surgery are currently accustomed to treat unborn babies. View in to the womb via a laparoscope showing an unborn baby’s hand. Open surgery and laparoscopic keyhole surgery are presently used to treat unborn babies. “Most birth defects could be prevented if we can intervene earlier,” says Professor Sebastien Ourselin, in the UCL Center for Medical Image Computing, who is leading the new research study. “But currently, surgical delivery systems are not available and operating on babies in the womb is reserved for just a handful of probably the most severe defects as risks are too high.” 

 

The best option is to perform surgery to correct the issue prior to the baby comes into the world but the complexities of such a procedure mean this currently only takes place in five countries worldwide. Most countries instead perform surgery after a child is born, however when the majority of damage has been done. To lessen the risk involved with fetal surgery, scientists at University College London (UCL), and KU Leuven in Belgium are creating a miniscule robotic arm to enter the womb with minimum disruption to mother and baby. The robotics are targeting spina bifida but additionally less popular conditions such as twin-twin transfusion syndrome, where blood passes unequally between twins who share a placenta, and fetal lower urinary system obstruction, where babies are unable to urinate in the womb as well as their bladders become large and distended. 

 

The device doubles to treat twin-twin transfusion syndrome, where blood passes unequally between twins who share a placenta. Researchers are creating a three-armed robot to do keyhole surgery to correct congenital defects on babies in the womb. The device could also be used to treat twin-twin transfusion syndrome, where blood passes unequally between twins who share a placenta. 

 

The device will consist of a photoacoustic camera that provides 3D imaging from the fetus in real time, which will help guide two flexible arms to provide gels or patches to seal the space in the spine of babies with spina bifida. In the future they may even deliver stem cells as stem cell therapies progress. Once entry in to the womb becomes safe, the potential is big.  “The most important thing is to lessen the invasiveness from the procedure as you would like to avoid causing pre-term labor. When we can make this possible, we want to expand treatment to be possible for all diseases which are already present at birth.”