| Our research is focused on developing physician-assist systems for precision placement and manipulation of surgical instruments. Minimally invasive procedures are rapidly growing in popularity, and there are numerous clinical needs for precise placement and manipulation. By creating novel systems integrating tracking, visualization, and robotics, the project aims to enable a new generation of image-guided and minimally invasive techniques.
Minimally invasive procedures are becoming increasingly popular due to the substantially reduced trauma for the patient. Percutaneous needle and instrument placement has become an essential part of diagnostic (such as biopsy) and therapeutic (such as drug delivery, brachytherapy, and radiofrequency ablation) modalities. These interventions are typically done using image guidance such as x-ray fluoroscopy or computed tomography, and require a highly skilled physician for optimal results. The development of integrated systems that incorporate tracking of anatomy, three-dimensional visualization, and precision robotic systems would allow the physician to more accurately target hard-to-reach anatomy as well as target the anatomy directly from the images themselves. As part of this work, we also aim to define what precision is needed for these procedures and to develop methods for characterizing the precision attainable with this new technology.
A major challenge in developing these systems is the issue of respiratory motion. To fully realize the promise of these new technologies and enable new clinical techniques, an integrated system must be capable of compensating for respiratory motion. This means that some method of tracking and/or modeling respiratory motion is required, as well as devices for targeting the anatomy as it moves during respiration. We have begun our initial steps in this direction by characterizing respiratory motion during selected interventional procedures, such as tracking spine motion during vertebroplasty and following liver motion with ultrasound |