History and Ancient Practice of Cranial Drill
– Evidence of cranial drilling dates back to c. 4,000 B.C.
– Ancient Romans, Egyptians, and Mesoamericans practiced cranial drilling
– Trepanning was also practiced in Ancient Greece, North and South America, Africa, Polynesia, and the Far East
– The first trepanning procedure used sharp and carved rocks
– The Hippocratic Corpus in the fifth century B.C. described trepanning with a hand-operated drill
Application and Uses of Cranial Drill
– Cranial drill is used in neurosurgery for conditions like traumatic brain injury and stroke
– It allows access to the dura mater and brain to relieve pressure or remove blood clots
– Modern cranial drills can create holes without damaging brain tissue
– The drill’s design includes a spiral blade and a cranium guide to prevent dural tearing
– It is used to perform craniotomy or oral surgeries
Types and Design of Cranial Drill
– Various types of cranial drills are used based on the surgical procedure
– Manual cranial drills are the most commonly used type
– Electric cranial drills are powered by batteries or electricity
– Pneumatic cranial drills use compressed air for high-speed performance
– Pneumatic craniotomes are also used for laminotomy procedures
Scientific Progress in Cranial Drill
– Technological advancements have reduced surgery time and risks for patients
– CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) is used to simplify surgeries
– CAD/CAM processors convert 2D images into 3D images for precise drilling
– Cranial drills benefit from machining techniques
– Safe cranial drilling devices have been developed for improved safety
References and Further Reading
– Medical News Today, BBC, and Motherboard articles discuss the history of cranial drilling
– MentalFloss and Encyclopedia.com provide information on the ancient practice of trepanation
– Harvard Office of Technology Development and Google Patents have patents related to cranial drilling
– Treccani enciclopedia on line provides information on the drill itself
– Neurosurgical Focus article discusses a computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing skull base drill Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranial_drill
A cranial drill, also known as a craniotome, is a tool for drilling simple burr holes (trepanation) or for creating larger openings in the skull. This exposes the brain and allows operations like craniotomy and craniectomy to be done. The drill itself can be manually or electrically driven, and primarily consists of a handpiece and a drill bit which is a sharp tool that has a form similar to Archimedes' screw, this instrument must be inserted into the drill chuck to perform holes and remove materials. The trepanation tool is generally equipped with a clutch which automatically disengages once it touches a softer tissue, thus preventing tears in the dura mater. For larger openings, the craniotome is an instrument that has replaced manually pulled saw wires in craniotomies from the 1980s.
 High-speed pneumatic surgical drill with cranial drill bit | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Activity sectors | Surgery, Craniotomy, Craniectomy |
| Description | |
Fields of employment | Hospitals, Clinics, Emergency Medicine |
