Robot-assisted minimally invasive photoacoustic imaging for monitoring liver ablation using diffusing fiber
Shang Gao1,2,3, Xihan Ma1, Yanbo Hua1
1Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Department of Robotics Engineering, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States.
Significance:
Accurate intraoperative assessment of ablation completeness in liver radiofrequency ablation (RFA) remains a clinical challenge, as conventional imaging lacks real-time capability to delineate necrotic boundaries. Incomplete ablation increases recurrence risk, underscoring the need for real-time, high-resolution imaging with functional tissue differentiation.
Aim:
We propose a robot-assisted photoacoustic (PA) imaging system employing a customized diffusing optical fiber to improve intraoperative monitoring of liver RFA.
Approach:
The system integrates circumferential wide-field illumination for enhanced tissue coverage with robotic automated 3D scanning and co-registered ultrasound. Spectroscopic PA imaging differentiates necrotic from viable tissue based on optical absorption, whereas a standard Hough transform algorithm suppresses fiber-induced artifacts. Validation was performed using ex vivo and cadaveric swine liver studies.
Results:
In cadaveric studies, 3D lesion mapping showed necrotic zones of , closely matching gross pathology measurements (7.93 mm average diameter), confirming system accuracy.
Conclusions:
The proposed system enables accurate, real-time visualization of ablation lesions in situ, offering a clinically viable approach to improve treatment precision and reduce recurrence in liver RFA procedures.
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