Robotic assistance for quick and accurate image-guided needle placement.

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Image-Guided Interventions
• Surgical Training

Background:

• Computed tomography (CT) image-guided procedures are increasingly used in medicine for biopsies, drug delivery, and ablation.
• Robotic technology offers potential benefits such as reduced training time, improved accuracy, fewer needle passes, and decreased radiation exposure for CT-guided interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate surgeon learning and proficiency in CT-guided needle placement using an FDA-cleared robotic arm.
• To assess the accuracy, efficiency, and reproducibility of robotic-assisted needle placement in a simulated environment.

Main Methods:

• Six surgeons, most with no prior CT-guided experience, underwent a 60-minute training session with the MAXIO robotic system.
• Surgeons performed percutaneous needle placements into three targets on a spine model.
• Performance metrics including time, errors, and accuracy (vector distance from target) were recorded.

Main Results:

• All participants successfully placed needles using the robotic arm, demonstrating proficiency.
• Average needle placement time decreased with practice, with third attempts significantly faster than the first.
• Needle placement accuracy was high, with an average vector distance of 2.3 ± 1.2 mm from the target. No errant placements occurred.

Conclusions:

• Surgeons with minimal training can achieve rapid, accurate, and reproducible percutaneous needle placement under CT guidance using a robotic arm.
• Robotic technology shows promise for facilitating surgeon adoption of CT image-guided needle-based procedures.
• This can potentially enhance patient care and procedural safety in minimally invasive interventions.