As a flexible needle with a bevel tip is pushed through soft tissue, the asymmetry of the tip causes the needle to bend. We propose that, by using nonholonomic kinematics, control, and path planning, an appropriately designed needle can be steered through tissue to reach a specified 3D target. Such steering capability could enhance targeting accuracy and may improve outcomes for percutaneous therapies, facilitate research on therapy effectiveness, and eventually enable new minimally invasive techniques. In this paper, we consider a first step toward active needle steering: design and experimental validation of a nonholonomic model for steering flexible needles with bevel tips. The model generalizes the standard three degree-of-freedom (DOF) nonholonomic unicycle and bicycle models to 6 DOF using Lie group theory. Model parameters are fit using experimental data, acquired via a robotic device designed for the specific purpose of inserting and steering a flexible needle. The experiments quantitatively validate the bevel-tip needle steering model, enabling future research in flexible needle path planning, control, and simulation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alterovitz, R., Goldberg, K., and Okamura, A. 2005a. Planning for steerable bevel-tip needle insertion through 2D soft tissue with obstacles . IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1652-1657 .
2.
Alterovitz, R., Lim, A., Goldberg, K., Chirikjian, G. S., and Okamura, A. 2005b. Planning for steerable bevel-tip needle insertion through 2d soft tissue with obstacles . IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 120-125 .
3.
Alterovitz, R., Goldberg, K., Pouliot, J., Taschereau, R., and Hsu, I.-C. 2003a. Needle insertion and radioactive seed implantation in human tissues: Simulation and sensitivity analysis . IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1793-1799 .
4.
Alterovitz, R., Goldberg, K., Pouliot, J., Taschereau, R., and Hsu, I.-C. 2003b. Sensorless planning for medical needle insertion procedures . IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 3337-3343 .
5.
Alterovitz, R., Pouliot, J., Taschereau, R., Hsu, I.-C., and Goldberg, K. 2003c. Simulating needle insertion and radioactive seed implantation for prostate brachytherapy. In Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 11, (ed. J. D. Westwood) pp. 19-25. IOS Press .
6.
Blasko, J. C., Mate, T., Sylvester, J. E., Grimm, P. D., and Cavanagh, W. 2002. Brachytherapy for carcinoma of the prostate: techniques, patient selection, and clinical outcomes . Seminars in Radiation Oncology 12(1): 81-94 .
7.
Boctor, E., Webster, R. J. III, Mathieu, H., Okamura, A. M., and Fichtinger, G. 2004. Virtual remote center of motion control for needle placement robots . Journal of Computer-Aided Surgery9(5): 175-183 .
8.
Brett, P. N., Harrison, A. J., and Thomas, T. A. 2000. Schemes for the identification of tissue types and boundaries at the tool point for surgical needles . IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine42(1): 30-36 .
9.
Brett, P. N., Harrison, A. J., Thomas, T. A., and Carr, A. 1997. Simulation of resistance forces acting on surgical needles . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers211 (H4): 335-347 .
10.
Cleary, K., Banovac, F., Lindisch, D., and Watson, V. 2001. Robotically assisted spine needle placement: program plan and cadaver study . 14th IEEE International Symposium on Computer Based Medical Systems, pp. 339-342 .
11.
Cooperberg, M. R., Lubeck, D. P., Meng, M. V., Mehta, S. S., and Carroll, P. R. 2004. The changing face of low-risk prostate cancer: trends in clinical presentation and primary management . Clin Oncol22(11): 2141-2149 .
12.
Daum, W. 2003. A deflectable needle assembly. U.S. Patent 5,572,593.
13.
DiMaio, S. P. and Salcudean, S. E. 2003a. Needle insertion modeling and simulation . IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation19(5): 864-875 .
14.
DiMaio, S. P. and Salcudean, S. E. 2003b. Needle steering and model-based trajectory planning . Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, pp. 33-40 .
15.
Fung, Y. C. 1993. Biomechanics: Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues, 2nd Edition. New York: Springer-Verlag .
16.
Gibson, S. F. and Mirtich, B. 1997. A survey of deformable modeling in computer graphics. Technical report, MERL, TR-97-19.
17.
Glozman, D. and Shoham, M. 2004. Flexible needle steering and optimal trajectory planning for percutaneous therapies. In Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, (eds C. Barillot, D. Haynor, and P. Hellier), volume 3217 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 137-144. Springer .
18.
Gorman, P., Krummel, T., Webster, R., Smith, M., and Hutchens, D. 2000. A prototype haptic lumbar puncture simulator . Proceedings of Medicine Meets Virtual Reality, pp. 106-109 .
19.
Guo, S., Fukuda, T., Nakamura, T., Arai, F., Oguro, K., and Negoro, M. 1996. Micro active guide wire catheter system—characteristic evaluation, electrical model and operability evaluation of micro active catheter . IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 2226-2231 .
20.
Haga, Y., Tanahashi, Y., and Esashi, M. 1998. Small diameter active catheters using shape memory alloy . Proceedings of IEEE Micro Elector Mechanical Systems, pp. 419-424 .
21.
Hayashi, K., Abe, H., and Sato, M. 1996. Data Book on Mechanical Properties of Living Cells, Tissues, and Organs. New York: Springer .
22.
Hiemenz, L., McDonald, J. S., Stredney, D., and Sessanna, D. 1996. A physiologically valid simulator for training residents to perform an epidural block . Proceedings of the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Conference, pp. 170-173 .
23.
Jemal, A. 2004. Cancer statistics, 2004 . CA Cancer J Clin54(8).
24.
Kaiser, W. A., Fischer, H., Vagner, J., and Selig, M. 2000. Robotic system for biopsy and therapy of breast lesions in a high-field whole-body magnetic resonance tomography unit . Investigative Radiology35: 513-519 .
25.
Kataoka, H., Washio, T., Audette, M., and Mizuhara, K. 2001. A model for relations between needle deflection, force, and thickness on penetration . Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, pp. 966-974 .
26.
Kataoka, H., Washio, T., Chinzei, K., Mizuhara, K., Simone, C., and Okamura, A. 2002. Measurement of tip and friction force acting on a needle during penetration. In Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, (eds T. Dohi and R. Kikinis), volume 2488 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 216-223. Springer .
27.
Koyama, H., Uchida, T., Funakubo, H., Takakura, K., and Fankhauser, H. 1990. Development of a new microsurgical robot for stereotactic neurosurgery . Stereotactic Functional Neurosurgery54-55: 462-467 .
28.
Krouskop, T. A., Wheeler, T. M., Kallel, F., Garria, B. S., and Hall, T. 1998. Elastic moduli of breast and prostate tissues under compression . Ultrasonic Imaging20 .
29.
Lim, G., Park, K., Sugihara, M., Minami, K., and Esashi, M. 1996. Future of active catheters . Sensors and Actuators56: 113-121 .
30.
Mahvash, M. and Hayward, V. 2002. Haptic rendering of cutting: A fracture mechanics approach . Haptics-e: The Electronic Journal of Haptics Research (www.haptics-e.org) 2(3).
31.
Masamune, K., Fichtinger, G., Patriciu, A., Susil, R. C., Taylor, R. H., Kavoussi, L. R., Anderson, J. H., Sakuma, I., Dohi, T., and Stoianovici, D. 2001. System for robotically assisted percutaneous procedures with computed tomography guidance . Computer Aided Surgery6(6): 370-383 .
32.
Masamune, K., Kobayashi, E., Masutani, Y., Suzuki, M., Dohi, T., Iseki, H., and Takakura, K. 1995. Development of an MRI-compatible needle insertion manipulator for stereotactic neurosurgery . Journal of Image Guided Surgery1: 242-248 .
33.
Mayer, S. A. 2003. Ultra-early hemostatic therapy for intracerebral hemorrhage . Stroke34(1): 224-229 .
34.
Mulier, S., Ni, Y., Miao, Y., Rosiere, A., Khoury, A., Marchal, G., and Michel, L. 2003. Size and geometry of hepatic radiofrequency lesions . Eur J Surg Oncol29(10): 867-878 .
35.
Murray, R. M., Li, Z., and Sastry, S. S. 1994. A Mathematical Introduction to Robotic Manipulation. CRC Press, Ann Arbor MI .
36.
Nakakura, E. and Choti, M. 2000. Hepatocellular carcinoma: Current management recommendations . Advances on Onc16(2): 12-18 .
37.
Nienhuys, H. W. and van der Stappen, A. 2001. A surgery simulation supporting cuts and finite element deformation. In Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, (eds W. J. Niessen and M. A. Viergever), pp. 153-160. Springer-Verlag .
38.
Nienhuys, H. W. and van der Stappen, A. 2004. A computational technique for interactive needle insertions in 3d nonlinear material . IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 2061-2067 .
39.
Okamura, A. M., Simone, C., and O’Leary, M. D. 2004. Force modeling for needle insertion into soft tissue . IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering51(10): 1707-1716 .
40.
Okazawa, S., Ebrahimi, R., Chuang, J., Salcudean, S. E., and Rohling, R. 2005. Hand-held steerable needle device . IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics10(3): 285-296 .
41.
O’Leary, M. D., Simone, C., Washio, T., Yoshinaka, K., and Okamura, A. M. 2003. Robotic needle insertion: Effects of friction and needle geometry . IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1774-1780 .
42.
Park, W., Kim, J. S., Zhou, Y., Cowan, N. J., Okamura, A. M., and Chirikjian, G. S. 2005. Diffusion-based motion planning for a nonholonomic flexible needle model . IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 4611-4616 .
43.
Potamianos, P., Davies, B. L., and Hibberd, R. D. 1994. Intra-operative imaging guidance for keyhole surgery: methodology and calibration . International Symposium on Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery, Pittsburgh, PA.
44.
Stoianovici, D. 2001. Urobotics - urology robotics at Johns Hopkins . Computer Aided Surgery6(6): 360-369 .
45.
Stoianovici, D., Webster, R., and Kavoussi, L. 2005. Surgical robotic applications in minimally invasive urooncology surgery. In Complications of Urologic Laparoscopic Surgery: Recognition, Management and Prevention, (eds R. Moore and J. Bishoff), pp. 353-363. Taylor and Francis . ISBN 1-84184-566-3.
46.
Taylor, R. H., Funda, J., Eldridge, B., Gomory, S., Gruben, K., LaRose, D., Talamini, M., Kavoussi, L., and Anderson, J. 1995a. A telerobotic assistant for laparoscopic surgery . IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine14(3): 279-288 .
47.
Taylor, R. H., Funda, J., Grossman, D. D., Karidis, J. P., and LaRose, D. A. 1995b. Remote center-of-motion robot for surgery. U.S. Patent 5,397,323.
48.
Ulmer, S. C. 2000. Hepatocellular carcinoma: a concise guide to its status and management . Postgrad Med107(5): 117-124 .
49.
Wallner, K., Blasko, J. C., and Dattoli, M. 2001b. Prostate Brachytherapy Made Complicated. Smart Medicine Press, Seattle, Washington , second edition.
50.
Webster, R. J. III, Cowan, N. J., Chirikjian, G. S., and Okamura, A. M. 2006. Nonholonomic Modeling of Needle Steering. 9th International Symposium on Experimental Robotics . Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics21: 35-44 .
51.
Webster, R. J. III, Memisevic, J., and Okamura, A. M. 2005. Design considerations for robotic needle steering . IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 3599-3605 .
52.
Yanof, J., Haaga, J., Klahr, P., Bauer, C., Nakamoto, D., Chaturvedi, A., and Bruce, R. 2001. CT-integrated robot for interventional procedures: Preliminary experiment and computer-human interfaces . Computer Aided Surgery6(6): 352-359 .
53.
Yen, P., Hibberd, R. D., and Davies, B. L. 1996. A telemanipulator system as an assistant and training tool for penetrating soft tissue . Mechatronics6(4): 423-436 .
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
