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Three-Dimensional Ultrasonic Needle Tip Tracking with a Fiber-Optic Ultrasound Receiver
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Toward certifiable optimal motion planning for medical steerable needles.
Mengyu Fu1, Kiril Solovey2, Oren Salzman3
1Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
The International Journal of Robotics Research
|October 31, 2023
Summary
This study introduces novel motion planners for steerable needles, guaranteeing optimal and safe paths for automated medical procedures. These planners ensure accurate target mencapai and obstacle avoidance, enhancing patient safety and treatment efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Medical Device Technology
- Computational Geometry
Background:
- Medical steerable needles enable complex 3D trajectories for precise targeting in minimally invasive procedures.
- Automating these procedures requires certified planning algorithms for clinical acceptance, patient safety, and regulatory compliance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a certifiable optimal motion planner for steerable needles.
- To create the first motion planner guaranteeing finite-time computation of obstacle-avoiding paths or identification of their absence.
- To establish the first resolution-optimal planner with theoretical guarantees on plan quality (global optimality).
Main Methods:
- Adaptation of multi-resolution planning techniques for steerable needle motion planning.
- Development of a resolution-complete planner with guarantees on path existence and computation time.
- Extension to a resolution-optimal planner ensuring global optimality.
Main Results:
- The proposed planners are the first to guarantee finite-time computation of obstacle-avoiding paths for steerable needles.
- Demonstrated higher success rates, reduced computation times, and improved plan quality compared to existing methods in simulations.
- Achieved theoretical guarantees on plan optimality and existence.
Conclusions:
- The developed motion planners represent a significant advancement towards certifiable automation of steerable needle procedures.
- These planners offer enhanced safety, accuracy, and efficiency for medical interventions.
- The work provides a foundation for clinically validated, automated steerable needle interventions.
