Automatic planning of needle placement for robot-assisted percutaneous procedures

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Interventional Radiology
• Surgical Planning

Background:

• Percutaneous procedures require precise needle insertion guided by imaging devices like CT scanners.
• Robotic assistance can enhance accuracy and reduce radiation exposure during X-ray guided interventions.
• Navigating complex environments such as CT scanner gantries poses challenges for robotic systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel planning algorithm for robotic-assisted percutaneous procedures.
• To compute a needle placement strategy compatible with patient anatomy and robot accessibility within a CT scanner.
• To evaluate the feasibility of using a general-purpose redundant manipulator for interventions in confined spaces.

Main Methods:

• The approach utilizes inverse kinematics, rapid collision detection, and bidirectional rapidly exploring random trees.
• An accessibility map is generated from 3D models of the patient, CT scanner, and robot.
• A retrospective study analyzed 16 patient datasets with and without robotic assistance (WR, RL, RR).

Main Results:

• The algorithm generates collision-free paths and an accessibility map for safe needle insertion.
• Planning is achieved in an average of approximately 1 minute, even in challenging cases.
• Robotic assistance (RL/RR) provided comparable safety to manual procedures (WR) regarding needle proximity to critical structures.

Conclusions:

• The developed planning method demonstrates the potential of robotic systems for percutaneous interventions in cluttered environments.
• A general-purpose redundant manipulator can be effectively utilized with a dedicated tool for these procedures.
• The approach enhances safety and accessibility for interventional radiology procedures.