Ultrasound-Guided Real-Time Joint Space Control of a Robotic Transcatheter Delivery System

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Surgical Navigation
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) is a minimally invasive treatment for mitral regurgitation (MR).
• Current TMVr devices require manual operation, leading to increased radiation exposure and limited telesurgery options.
• Robotic systems offer potential for improved precision, safety, and reduced surgeon fatigue in TMVr.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an ultrasound-guided robotic system for TMVr.
• To enable real-time estimation and control of multiple robotic joints during TMVr procedures.
• To assess the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed joint estimation technique.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a previously derived model for a robotic transcatheter system.
• Implemented ultrasound-guided joint space control for simultaneous estimation of four joints.
• Employed kinematically-derived weight maps and a feature detection algorithm for joint estimation.
• Validated the system through experiments comparing proposed methods with existing strategies and real-time control demonstrations.

Main Results:

• Achieved real-time (0.011 s) estimation of four joints with high accuracy (e.g., 3.19° for proximal bending, 2.41 mm for prismatic motion).
• Demonstrated computational efficiency, intuitive comprehension, and independence from training datasets.
• Successfully performed real-time ultrasound-guided control in a simulated TMVr environment.

Conclusions:

• The developed ultrasound-guided robotic system shows promise for enhancing TMVr procedures.
• The novel joint estimation technique is accurate, efficient, and versatile.
• This approach can improve safety, precision, and feasibility of robotic TMVr and telesurgery.