AcuBot: A Robot for Radiological Interventions

Dan Stoianovici, Kevin Cleary, Alexandra Patriciu, Dumitru Mazilu, Alexandru Stanimir, Nicolae Craciunoiu, Vance Watson, Louis Kavoussi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

134 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report the development of a robot for radiological percutaneous interventions using uniplanar fluoroscopy, biplanar fluoroscopy, or computed tomography (CT) for needle biopsy, radio frequency ablation, cryotherapy, and other needle procedures. AcuBot is a compact six-degree-of-freedom robot for manipulating a needle or other slender surgical instrument in the confined space of the imager without inducing image artifacts. Its distinctive characteristic is its decoupled motion capability correlated to the positioning, orientation, and instrument insertion steps of the percutaneous intervention. This approach allows each step of the intervention to be performed using a separate mechanism of the robot. One major advantage of this kinematic approach is patient safety. The first feasibility experiment performed with the robot, a cadaver study of perispinal blocks under biplanar fluoroscopy, is presented. The main expected application of this system is to CT-based procedures. AcuBot has received Food and Drug Administration clearance (IDE G010331/S1), and a clinical trial of using the robot for perispinal nerve and facet blocks is presently underway at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)927-930
Number of pages4
JournalIEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation
Volume19
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2003

Keywords

  • Image-guided surgical intervention
  • Robot-assisted surgery
  • Surgical robot

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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