CRANE: A highly dexterous needle placement robot for evaluation of interventional radiology procedures

TL;DR

CRANE is a robotic system with 8 DoF and an innovative needle insertion mechanism designed for CT-guided interventional radiology, enabling precise procedures and evaluation of current limitations.

Contribution

The paper introduces CRANE, a novel robotic needle placement system with a unique infinite travel insertion mechanism and distributed control architecture for IR procedures.

Findings

Robust robotic needle positioning demonstrated in CT-guided procedures.

Distributed control system enables low-latency operation.

Platform facilitates evaluation and prototyping of IR techniques.

Abstract

Interventional Radiology (IR) enables earlier diagnosis and less invasive treatment of numerous ailments. Here we present our ongoing development of CRANE: CT RoboticArm and Needle Emplacer, a robotic needle positioning system for CT guided procedures. The robot has 8 active Degrees-of-Freedom (DoF) and a novel infinite travel needle insertion mechanism. The control system is distributed using the RobotOperating System (ROS) across a low latency network that interconnects a real-time low-jitter controller, with a desktop computer which hosts the User Interface (UI) and high-level control. This platform can serve to evaluate limitations in the current procedures and to prototype potential solutions to these challenges in-situ.