An international research team is advancing robotic technology for the detection and treatment of prostate 
Brachytherapy seeds in the prostate. Source: radiopaedia.orgcancer, which in the U.K. alone afflicts more than 40,000 patients annually. The system is being designed to improve the accuracy of both prostate cancer biopsies and brachytherapy, a treatment regimen for specific cases.
The five-year £3.3 million EU-funded project will involve robotics experts from the Universite de Lille in France and researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The latter are engineering a steerable, flexible needle, while scientists from the University of Portsmouth and Queen Alexandra Hospital in the U.K. will helm the development of a system guided by artificial intelligence and mathematical models.
The technology is expected to translate into a less invasive treatment requiring fewer needles. The placement of radioactive seeds into the prostate for brachytherapy is also predicted to be more precise. The prototype, slated for demonstration within five years, could also offer tools for the treatment of head and neck cancers.
