Design and Control of a Compact, Modular Robot for Transbronchial Lung Biopsy

Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly forms of cancer, claiming more than 154,000 lives in the USA per year. Accurate targeting and biopsy of pulmonary abnormalities is key for early diagnosis and successful treatment. Many cancerous lesions originate in the peripheral regions of the lung which are not directly accessible from the bronchial tree, thereby requiring percutaneous approaches to collect biopsies, which carry a higher risk of pneumothorax, hemorrhage, and death in extreme cases. In prior work, our group proposed a concept for accessing the peripheral lung through the airways, via a bronchscope deployed steerable needle. In this paper, we present a more compact, modular, multi-stage robot, designed to deploy a steerable needle through a standard flexible bronchoscope, to retrieve biopsies from lesions in the peripheral regions of the lung. The robot has several stages that can control a steerable biopsy needle, as well as concentric tubes, which act as an aiming conduit. The functionality of this robot is demonstrated via closed-loop lesion targeting in a CT scanner. The steerable needle is controlled using a previously proposed sliding mode controller, based on feedback from a magnetic tracker embedded in the steerable needle's tip. Towards developing a clinically viable platform, this system builds on prior work through its modular, compact form factor, and workflow-conscious design that provides precise homing and the ability to interchange tools as needed.