The MIRIAM Robot: A Novel Robotic System for MR-Guided Needle Insertion in the Prostate

Abstract

Early prostate cancer detection and treatment are of major importance to reduce mortality rate. magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides images of the prostate where an early stage lesion can be visualized. The use of robotic systems for MR-guided interventions in the prostate allows us to improve the clinical outcomes of procedures such as biopsy and brachytherapy. This work presents a novel MR-conditional robot for prostate interventions. The minimally invasive robotics in an magnetic resonance imaging environment (MIRIAM) robot has 9 degrees-of-freedom (DoF) used to steer and fire a biopsy needle. The needle guide is positioned against the perineum by a 5 DoF parallel robot driven by piezoelectric motors. A 4 DoF needle driver inserts, rotates and fires the needle during the procedure. Piezoelectric motors are used to insert and rotate the needle, while pneumatic actuation is used to fire the needle. The MR-conditional design of the robot and the needle insertion controller are presented. MR compatibility tests using T2 imaging protocol are performed showing a SNR reduction of 25% when the robot is operational within the MR scanner. Experiments inserting a biopsy needle toward a physical target resulted in an average targeting error of 1.84[Formula: see text]mm. Our study presents a novel MR-conditional robot and demonstrated the ability to perform MR-guided needle-based interventions in soft-tissue phantoms. Moreover, the image distortion analysis indicates that no visible image deterioration is induced by the robot.

Real-time Teleoperation of Flexible Beveled-tip Needle Insertion using Haptic Force Feedback and 3D Ultrasound Guidance

“…Many teleoperated robotic systems have been designed for needle insertion procedures [9], [10]. However, the surgeon is still often required to directly control the different degrees of freedom (DOF) of the robot, which can have various and complex effects on the actual tip trajectory.…”

Tele-Operated MRI-Guided Needle Insertion for Prostate Interventions

“…The needle driver rotates and inserts the needle into the prostate. Moreira et al previously described the design and autonomous operation of the robot [3]. The needle steering capability and the MRcompatibility of the robot were evaluated in a MAGNETOM Aera scanner.…”

“…The planner defines the insertion location and angle for each target location. For more details on the path planner, we refer the reader to our previous study [3].…”

“…Besides the improvements to the clinical outcomes, the use of robotic systems can facilitate MR-guided prostate interventions and increase its clinical indication. The Minimally Invasive Robotics In An MRI environment (MIRIAM) robot aims to facilitate MR-guided prostate interventions [3].…”

Research on the accuracy of three‐dimensional localization and navigation in robot‐assisted spine surgery

“…With the development of medical imaging equipment and optical positioning devices, the development of spine surgery robot navigation technology was also more and more rapid. With the mature development of computed tomography (CT) imaging technology, it has become an increasingly common way to observe, analyze, and plan the path of lesions with the help of preoperative three‐dimensional images . However, the direct registration of preoperative three‐dimensional images and patient's space requires exposing the spine to place landmarks and was not appropriate for the development of minimally invasive surgery .…”