Modeling of the Flexible Needle Insertion into the Human Liver

Abstract

The insertion of the needle is difficult because the deformation and displacement of the organs are the key elements in the surgical act. Liver and tumor modeling are essential in the development of the needle insertion model. The role of the needle is to deliver into the tumor an active chemotherapeutic agent. We describe in this chapter the deformation of the needle during its insertion into the human liver in the context of surgery simulation of the high- robotic-assisted intraoperative treatment of liver tumors based on the integrated imaging-molecular diagnosis. The needle is a bee barbed type modeled as a flexible thread within the framework of the Cosserat (micropolar) elasticity theory.