Bristol Royal Hospital for Children announce new name for paediatric neurosurgery robot
Last updated: 03/04/2025
After thousands of submissions and votes from the public, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust announced the name of their new neurosurgery robot.
Patients, their families and the public were asked to submit their ideas for a friendly name for the newest member of the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
There were more than 700 submissions and UHBW’s Young Ambassadors and colleagues from the Children’s Epilepsy Surgery Service (CESS) whittled down the list to just five names.
The public were then asked to cast their vote, and thousands of people responded.
On Wednesday (2 April) the name was unveiled in Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, and we can now confirm the winning name is:
CAPTAIN CORTEX
Procedures the robot, manufactured by Renishaw and officially called neuromate, will be able to assist surgeons with include:
- Stereo-electroencephalography insertion, when electrodes are surgically placed through the skull and into the brain, to measure activity.
- Stereotactic biopsies, when samples of brain tissue are collected.
- Insertion of deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes.
All of these services are offered to children who live throughout the South West of England, the South of England and South Wales at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
Julie Woodfield, UHBW consultant paediatric neurosurgeon said: “We had over 670 names submitted which was very successful.
“Botty McBotface and Surgery McSurgeryface were very popular submissions. We did want the robot to have a friendly name which we can use when speaking to the children we care for and their families, but there were criteria we used to help us pick something appropriate.
“It doesn’t look how many people might imagine a robot to look. It has a very precise arm, articulated in different places which allows us to accurately pinpoint an entry and trajectory point moving us to the exact position on a patient’s head.”
Renishaw, who manufactured Captain Cortex, were on hand on the day to unveil the neuromate complete with its new name emblazoned on the side.
The shortlist patients were able to vote for was:
- Headward
- Brian
- Captain Cortex
- Brainbot
- Neuronimo