Purpose Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) combined with robotic assistance has the potential to improve on clinical outcomes of biopsy and local treatment of prostate cancer. Methods We report the workspace optimization and phantom evaluation of a five Degree of Freedom (DOF) parallel pneumatically actuated modular robot for MRI-guided prostate biopsy. To shorten procedure time and consequently increase patient comfort and system accuracy, a prototype of a MRI-compatible master–slave needle driver module using piezo motors was also added to the base robot. Results Variable size workspace was achieved using appropriate link length, compared with the previous design. The 5-DOF targeting accuracy demonstrated an average error of 2.5mm (STD=1.37mm) in a realistic phantom inside a 3T magnet with a bevel-tip 18G needle. The average position tracking error of the master–slave needle driver was always below 0.1mm. Conclusion Phantom experiments showed sufficient accuracy for manual prostate biopsy. Also, the implementation of teleoperated needle insertion was feasible and accurate. These two together suggest the feasibility of accurate fully actuated needle placement into prostate while keeping the clinician supervision over the task.
A new type of cable-driven continuum manipulator (CM) is presented, in which the stiffness of the device along its body length can be controlled using the thermomechanical properties of a phase changing alloy. The liquid phase of the alloy is used for achieving high dexterity and the solid phase for high stiffness. Joule heating and water cooling is used for transitioning the phase changing alloy between stiff and compliant states. Single-segment and two-segment working prototypes of the CM are demonstrated. The mechanical and thermodynamic features of these prototypes are discussed and their physical performance is investigated. Advantages of the presented design with phase changing alloy include: significantly improved dexterity, high payload to weight ratio, controllable stiffness, energy efficiency, and a large lumen.
Background Accurate needle placement is the first concern in percutaneous MRI-guided prostate interventions. In this phantom study, different sources contributing to the overall needle placement error of a MRI-guided robot for prostate biopsy have been identified, quantified, and minimized to the possible extent. Methods and Materials The overall needle placement error of the system was evaluated in a prostate phantom. This error was broken into two parts: the error associated with the robotic system (called before-insertion error) and the error associated with needle-tissue interaction (called due-to-insertion error). The before-insertion error was measured directly in a soft phantom and different sources contributing into this part were identified and quantified. A calibration methodology was developed to minimize the 4-DOF manipulator’s error. The due-to-insertion error was indirectly approximated by comparing the overall error and the before-insertion error. The effect of sterilization on the manipulator’s accuracy and repeatability was also studied. Results The average overall system error in phantom study was 2.5 mm (STD=1.1mm). The average robotic system error in super soft phantom was 1.3 mm (STD=0.7 mm). Assuming orthogonal error components, the needle-tissue interaction error was approximated to be 2.13 mm thus having larger contribution to the overall error. The average susceptibility artifact shift was 0.2 mm. The manipulator’s targeting accuracy was 0.71 mm (STD=0.21mm) after robot calibration. The robot’s repeatability was 0.13 mm. Sterilization had no noticeable influence on the robot’s accuracy and repeatability. Conclusions The experimental methodology presented in this paper may help researchers to identify, quantify, and minimize different sources contributing into the overall needle placement error of an MRI-guided robotic system for prostate needle placement. In the robotic system analyzed here, the overall error of the studied system remained within the acceptable range.
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