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Smooth path planning for a biologically-inspired neurosurgical probe
Sophia Bano1, Seong Young Ko, Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena
1Imperial College, London, UK. sophia.bano@eecs.qmul.ac.uk
Summary
A new path planning method enables a flexible neurosurgical probe (STING) to navigate deep brain lesions safely. This approach optimizes surgical paths, minimizing tissue damage and patient risk for minimally invasive procedures.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Robotics
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Percutaneous interventions offer advantages over open neurosurgery.
- Developing flexible and steerable probes is crucial for accessing deep brain lesions.
- Existing methods may lack precision for complex curvilinear paths.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel path planning method for the STING neurosurgical flexible probe.
- To enable safe and precise access to deep brain lesions via curvilinear trajectories.
- To optimize surgical paths considering tissue damage and patient risk.
Main Methods:
- Modeling the flexible probe as a nonholonomic system.
- Developing a deterministic continuous curvature path planning scheme.
- Implementing obstacle avoidance and path optimization for shortest, safest routes.
Main Results:
- Successful generation of pre-operative paths for the STING probe.
- Demonstrated ability to satisfy nonholonomic constraints.
- Validated path planning scheme using brain risk-map simulations.
Conclusions:
- The developed path planning method is effective for guiding flexible neurosurgical probes.
- This approach enhances safety and precision in minimally invasive neurosurgery.
- Optimized paths minimize tissue damage and patient risk during deep brain interventions.
