Planning Non-Linear Trajectories for No-Touch Thermal Ablation Using Passive Steerable Needle With Controlled...

Area of Science:

• Medical Engineering
• Robotics
• Image-Guided Therapy

Background:

• Percutaneous thermal ablation offers minimally invasive treatment but faces challenges in planning.
• Manual planning is time-consuming and often relies on tools for rigid or active steering needles, not passive ones.
• Achieving multiple ablations from a single insertion requires precise trajectory planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the Passive Steering Ablation planning Method (PSAM) for percutaneous thermal ablation.
• To optimize trajectories for passive steerable needles, ensuring safety and minimizing healthy tissue ablation.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of a 'no-touch' thermal ablation approach with a single needle insertion.

Main Methods:

• Developed PSAM, an enhanced particle swarm optimization algorithm with memory.
• Integrated PSAM with the passively steerable ARC needle.
• Compared PSAM planning with Monte-Carlo simulations and manual surgical planning using rigid needles.

Main Results:

• PSAM successfully calculated optimal trajectories for the ARC needle.
• The PSAM approach demonstrated potential for 'no-touch' thermal ablation.
• Evaluations indicated the PSAM approach's effectiveness compared to existing methods.

Conclusions:

• The PSAM approach shows significant promise for planning percutaneous thermal ablation procedures.
• The ARC needle combined with PSAM planning enables safer and more efficient multiple ablations.
• This method has the potential to reduce procedure risks and improve patient outcomes.