A New Apparatus for the Precise Location of an Inaccessible Point, with Applications to Deep Surgery

Abstract

A stereotactic apparatus is a device used to guide a needle to a chosen point in the brain. The position of the point, relative to the skull or to any artificial reference system fastened to the skull, is determined by radiographic means. Many types of stereotax exist and are in present-day use; several of these are referred to in the text. Certain disadvantages are associated with existing instruments, and in developing the stereotax under discussion, specific design objectives were kept in mind, the more important of these being the elimination of excessive weight, the elimination of any form of calculation, and the need for reasonable accuracy. The basic theory and a general description of the apparatus are given, together with photographs of X-ray films taken during the course of an operation.