Interventional radiology robot for CT and MRI guided percutaneous interventions

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Interventional Radiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Percutaneous needle interventions are crucial in diagnostics and therapeutics.
• Image guidance, particularly CT and MRI, is essential for accurate needle placement.
• Existing robotic systems may face challenges with sterilization, imaging compatibility, or precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a new patient-mounted robotic system for CT and MRI-guided percutaneous needle interventions.
• To assess the robot's compatibility with sterilization methods and imaging modalities.
• To determine the precision and mechanical accuracy of the robotic system.

Main Methods:

• Development of a 5 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) robot utilizing ultrasonic motors and pneumatics.
• Integration of fiducials for needle registration in both CT and MRI.
• Evaluation of sterilization methods (hydrogen peroxide gas), CT/MRI compatibility, and mechanical precision.

Main Results:

• The robot is fully sterilizable using hydrogen peroxide gas.
• No noticeable image artifacts or deformations were observed in CT and MRI scans.
• The robot does not negatively impact the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of MR images.
• The system demonstrated a mechanical error of less than 5mm.

Conclusions:

• The developed patient-mounted robot is suitable for CT and MRI-guided interventions.
• The robot meets critical requirements for sterilization and imaging compatibility.
• The system's precision is adequate for percutaneous needle interventions, paving the way for improved robotic assistance.