Image-Guided Robotics in Minimally Invasive Therapies

Abstract

Imager-compatible robots in minimally invasive therapy enable precise placement of treatment tools on targets using intraoperative imaging for planning, navigation, and guiding. Percutaneous therapies such as biopsy and ablation therapies of breast, prostate, and abdominal organs are a typical area of clinical discipline benefitting from the imager-compatible robots. The imagers to be used for imager-compatible robots are ultrasound, X-ray, CT, and MRI. Of particular scientific interest, both from clinical and engineering perspective, is MRI-compatible robot. Developing MRI-compatible robots continues to be challenging, particularly when choosing actuators, materials, and sensors, given that these are conventionally made of materials and methods not suitable for the MRI environment. In the future, the utility of MRI-compatible robots will be further illuminated and appreciated when imaging is used as a part of sensory feedback for motion control. Other emerging areas of research in MRI-compatible robot development are micro- and nanorobotics, where miniature devices are manipulated and visualized in MRI.