Robotic flexible Needle Insertion

Keywords : Flexible needle, Modeling and finite-element simulations, needle steering, robotic needle insertion

In this work, a new approach for an automatic control of a robotic needle insertion in deformable environment was proposed. Input commands were derived from an inverse finite elements (FE) simulations allowing for the prediction of the behavior of deformable structures. Errors of FE models with respect to real material were controlled thanks to a nonrigid registration performed at a high frequency. We proposed a constraint-based formulation allowing for the computation of inverse steps in constraint space providing this way total insertion time compatible with clinical applications. In order to bring the system to the operating room, the main limitation lies in the image modality and image processing issues providing reliable per-operative observation points, necessary for the corrective step.