Robot-assisted diagnostic ultrasound – Design and feasibility experiments

Abstract

Motivated by the need for providing a better user interface for ultrasound technicians, a teleoperation approach to diagnostic ultrasound examinations is proposed in this paper. In this approach, the ultrasound probe is positioned by a robot, with the operator, the robot controller, and an ultrasound image processor having shared control over its motion. An inherently safe, light, backdrivable, counterbalanced robot has been designed for carotid artery examinations. Its design, as well as experiments demonstrating effective free-motion and force control, are presented. The feasibility of using visual servoing for motion in the plane of the ultrasound probe has also been addressed. Using a modified image correlation algorithm, tracking of the carotid artery for periods of time in excess of ten seconds has been demonstrated.