ROBOTIC technology created by engineers at Renishaw will be used to save lives at Frenchay Hospital.

Cutting edge technicians at the Wotton-under-Edge company have created a neuromate robot, which will enable neurosurgeons to implant devices and treatment into patients’ brains with pinpoint accuracy.

The £270,000 of technology has been paid for by the Friends of Frenchay Hospital and will make Frenchay a world leading centre in neurosurgery.

Professor Steve Gill, a neurosurgeon based at the hospital, said: "The machine will aid the delivery of catheters into the brain with an accuracy that no human could achieve.

"Moreover, we shall be adopting this precision robot for current deep brain stimulation procedures quite soon as well as for other procedures where we can exploit its accuracy and repeatability."

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

"With this new piece of technology, Frenchay Hospital will be able to build on its reputation as a world-leader in neurosciences.

"What makes this even more special is that we are working with a local company to develop the robot for our needs and the needs of functional neurosurgery more widely."

The neuromate robot uses a robotic arm which can be positioned above a patient's head, providing a trajectory along which surgical instruments or implants can be accurately introduced into the brain.

The pioneering machine, the first to be used in the South West and one of only a handful across the globe, is seen as a major step forward in the treatment of epilepsy.

It will also enable clinicians to pursue cutting edge research into delivering drugs into the brain in cases of brain tumours, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease.

The Friends have also bought a £30,000 surgical planning station, the neuroinspire, which will work with the robotic arm to deliver safer and more accurate surgery.