Development of a tendon driven robotic probe for prostate palpation

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Robotics
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Manual palpation is a subjective diagnostic method for assessing organ conditions.
• Physician experience significantly impacts the accuracy of manual palpation.
• Variability in manual palpation hinders objective diagnosis, particularly for prostate cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate a 2 Degrees of Freedom (2DoF) robotic palpation probe for objective diagnosis.
• To develop a system that minimizes subjectivity and variability in palpation.
• To provide quantitative tactile information for understanding tissue changes.

Main Methods:

• A tendon-driven robotic palpation probe with a 2 Degrees of Freedom (2DoF) design was developed.
• A kinematic model and tendon path length model were derived.
• An optimization method for guide arc center placement was implemented to minimize tendon length changes.
• Positioning accuracy was assessed by comparing theoretical and experimental pitch and yaw angles.

Main Results:

• The robotic probe achieved positioning accuracy with differences between theoretical and measured values ranging from 0.03° to 5.06°.
• The system demonstrated the potential for objective and quantitative tactile information acquisition.
• The developed kinematic and geometric models accurately represented the probe's behavior.

Conclusions:

• The robotic palpation probe offers a more objective alternative to manual palpation for disease diagnosis.
• This technology can provide quantitative biomarkers by assessing mechanical tissue properties.
• The system has clinical relevance for improving the consistency and accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis.