Needle steering by shaft manipulation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10507067-B2
Application number	US-201415027438-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2014
Priority date	Oct 7, 2013
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

A method and apparatus for steering of a flexible needle into tissue using a steering robotic platform for manipulation of the needle shaft, and by use of a semi-active arm for locating and orienting of the steering robot on the patient's body. As opposed to other steering methods, the robot does not hold the base of the needle, which is its proximal region, but rather grips the shaft of the needle by means of a manipulatable needle gripping device, near its distal end. The needle gripper attached to the robotic platform may be equipped with a traction assembly to provide motion to the needle in its longitudinal direction, such that it co-ordinates the entry of the needle with the desired entry angle. The gripping of the needle at its distal end, close to its insertion point, provides the needle manipulator with a low profile, with concomitant advantages.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for inserting a needle into a body of a subject, and for steering said needle within soft tissue of said subject, comprising:
a robotic platform having a plurality of degrees of freedom and configured to provide said needle with a desired pose; and
a needle gripper configured to be attached to said robotic platform and to grip a shaft of said needle at its distal end, said needle gripper comprising a driving mechanism configured to be activated to provide motion to said needle in the longitudinal direction of said needle, wherein
said driving mechanism comprises at least a pair of rollers on either side of said needle, such that coordinated rotation of said rollers causes said needle to move in said longitudinal direction, and
said robotic platform and said driving mechanism of said needle gripper are activated in coordination, such that said robotic platform adjusts the orientation angle of said needle inside said soft tissue of said subject during insertion motion of said needle into said subject, such that said needle traverses a non-linear path within said soft tissue of said subject.

2. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said robotic platform comprises an actuated platform and a base plate, said base plate being configured for positioning on the skin of said subject.

3. A system according to claim 2 , wherein said robotic platform is adapted to position and orient said needle in space by appropriately positioning and orienting said actuated platform relative to said base plate to achieve said desired pose of said needle.

4. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said needle gripper is adapted to enable release of its grip on said needle, to allow said needle to move freely longitudinally.

5. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising a needle rotation mechanism configured to rotate said needle about its axis.

6. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising a semi-active support arm configured to align said robotic platform close to a point of insertion of said needle into the body of the subject.

7. A system according to claim 6 , wherein said semi-active support arm is configured to apply pressure to said robotic platform, such that said robotic platform remains in contact with the body of the subject.

8. A system according to claim 6 , wherein said semi-active support arm is configured such that its motion is essentially unconstrained in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the body of the subject, such that said robotic platform moves freely with motion of the body of the subject.

9. A system according to claim 6 , wherein said semi-active support arm is configured to constrain said robotic platform to a predetermined position on the body of the subject.

10. A system according to claim 6 , wherein said robotic platform is configured for connecting to a base element via said semi-active support arm.

11. A system according to claim 6 , wherein said semi-active support arm is configured to be connected to said base element via an arched support arm.

12. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising a sensor system for detecting motion of the body of the subject.

13. A system according to claim 12 , wherein said sensor system is configured to define a breath cycle of said subject.

14. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said robotic platform is any one of a parallel, a serial and a hybrid robotic platform.

15. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said needle gripper is configured to be attached to said robotic platform, such that said needle gripper and said robotic platform are positioned immediately juxtaposed a surface of the skin of said subject.

16. A system according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of degrees of freedom of said robotic platform and said gripping of said shaft of said needle at its distal end are such that a workspace of said system is flat or planar, and does not depend on the length of said needle.

17. A system for inserting a needle into a body of a subject, and for steering said needle within soft tissue of said subject, comprising:
a robotic platform configured to provide said needle with a desired pose, comprising:
(i) an actuated platform having a plurality of degrees of freedom, and
(ii) a base plate configured for positioning on the skin of the subject;

and a needle gripper configured to be attached to said robotic platform and to grip a shaft of said needle at its distal end, said needle gripper being configured to be activated to provide motion to said needle in the longitudinal direction of said needle,
wherein said robotic platform and said needle gripper act in coordination, such that said robotic platform adjusts the orientation angle of said needle inside said soft tissue of said subject during insertion motion of said needle into the body of said subject.

18. A system according to claim 17 , wherein said robotic platform is adapted to position and orient said needle in space by appropriately positioning and orienting said actuated platform relative to said base plate to achieve said desired pose of said needle.

19. A system according to claim 17 , wherein said needle gripper comprises at least a pair of rollers on either side of said needle, such that coordinated rotation of said rollers causes said needle to move in said longitudinal direction.

Assignees

• Technion Res & Dev Foundation

Inventors

• Glozman Daniel
• Daskal Gonen
• Shoham Moshe
• Arad Michael
• Pinsky Yoav

Classifications

• A61B2017/3409

  including needle or instrument drives · CPC title

• A61B2090/3762

  using computed tomography systems [CT] · CPC title

• A61B2090/374

  NMR or MRI · CPC title

• A61B34/30 Primary

  Surgical robots · CPC title

• A61B90/37

  Surgical systems with images on a monitor during operation · CPC title