Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Automatic ultrasound scanning robotic system with optical waveguide-based force measurement

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound (US) imaging realized by continuous scanning of a region is of great value for medical diagnosis and robot-assisted needle insertion. During scanning, the contact force and posture between the probe and skin of the patient are crucial factors that determine the quality of US imaging. We propose a robotic system for automatic scanning of curved surfaces with a stable contact force and vertical contact posture (the probe is parallel to the normal of the surface at the contact point).

Methods

A 6-DOF robotic arm is used to hold and drive a two-dimensional (2D) US probe to complete automatic scanning. Further, a path-planning strategy is proposed to generate the scan path covering the selected area automatically. We also developed a novel force-measuring device based on optical waveguides to measure the distributed contact force and contact posture. Based on the measured force and posture, the robotic arm automatically adjusts the position and orientation of the probe and maintains a stable contact force and vertical contact posture at each scan point.

Results

The novel force-measuring device is easy to fabricate, integrates with the probe and has the capacity of measuring the force distributed on the contact surface and estimating the contact posture. The experimental results of automatic scanning of a US phantom and parts of the human body demonstrate that the proposed system performs well in automatically scanning curved surfaces, maintaining a stable contact force and vertical contact posture and producing a good quality 3D US volume.

Conclusion

An automatic US scanning robotic system with an optical waveguide-based force-measuring device was developed and tested successfully. Experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed system to scan the human body.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mahmoud MZ, Aslam M, Alsaadi M, Fagiri MA, Alonazi B (2019) Evolution of robot-assisted ultrasound-guided breast biopsy systems. J Radiat Res Appl Sci 11(1):89–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Neubach Z, Shoham M (2010) Ultrasound-guided robot for flexible needle steering. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 57(4):799–805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Neshat H, Cool DW, Barker K, Gardi L, Kakani N, Fenster A (2013) A 3D ultrasound scanning system for image guided liver interventions. Med Phys 40(11):112903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Huang Q, Zeng Z (2017) A review on real-time 3D ultrasound imaging technology. Biomed Res Int. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6027029

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Agel FM, Lorenzo MJV (2005) Tridimensional (3D) ultrasonography. Rev Esp Enferm Dig 97(2):125–134

    Google Scholar 

  6. Saftoiu A, Gheonea DI (2009) Tridimensional (3D) endoscopic ultrasound—a pictorial review. J Gastrointest Liver Dis 18(4):501–505

    Google Scholar 

  7. Mercier L, Langø T, Lindseth F, Collins DL (2005) A review of calibration techniques for freehand 3-D ultrasound systems. Ultrasound Med Biol 31(4):143–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Xu J, Jia ZZ, Song ZJ, Yang XD, Chen K, Liang P (2010) Three-dimensional ultrasound image-guided robotic system for accurate microwave coagulation of malignant liver tumours. Int J Med Robot Comput Assist Surg 6(3):256–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Seitz PK, Baumann B, Johnen W, Lissek C, Seidel J, Bendl R (2019) Development of a robot-assisted ultrasound-guided radiation therapy (USgRT). Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg 15(4):491–501

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Gilbertson MW, Anthony BW (2015) Force and position control system for freehand ultrasound. IEEE Trans Robot 31(4):835–849

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Karar ME (2018) A simulation study of adaptive force controller for medical robotic liver ultrasound guidance. Arab J Sci Eng 43(8):4229–4238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Lau K, Leun EYY, Chiu PWY, Yam Y, Lau JYW, Poon CCY (2016) A flexible surgical robotic system for removal of early-stage gastrointestinal cancers by endoscopic submucosal dissection. IEEE Trans Ind Inform 12(6):2365–2374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kojcev R, Fuerst B, Zettinig O, Fotouhi J, Lee SC, Frisch B, Taylor R, Sinibaldi E, Navab N (2016) Dual-robot ultrasound-guided needle placement: closing the planning-imaging-action loop. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg 11(6):1173–1181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Jiang Z, Grimm M, Zhou M, Hu Y, Esteban J, Navab N (2020) Automatic force-based probe positioning for precise robotic ultrasound acquisition. IEEE Trans Ind Electron. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2020.3036215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Jiang Z, Grimm M, Zhou M, Esteban J, Simson W, Zahnd G, Navab N (2020) Automatic normal positioning of robotic ultrasound probe based only on confidence map optimization and force measurement. IEEE Robot Autom Lett 5(2):1342–1349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Wu B, Huang Q (2016) A Kinect-based automatic ultrasound scanning system. In: International conference on advanced robotics and mechatronics (ICARM), pp 585–590

  17. Virga S, Gobl R, Baust M, Navab N, Hennersperger C (2018) Use the force: deformation correction in robotic 3D ultrasound. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg 13(5):619–627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Esteban J, Simson W, Requena Witzig S, Rienmüller A, Virga S, Frisch B, Zettinig O, Sakara D, Ryang Y, Navab N, Hennersperger C (2018) Robotic ultrasound-guided facet joint insertion. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg 13(1):895–904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Merouche S, Allard L, Montagnon E, Soulez G, Bigras P, Cloutier G (2016) A robotic ultrasound scanner for automatic vessel tracking and three-dimensional reconstruction of B-mode images. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 63(1):35–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Burcher MR, Noble JA, Han L, Gooding M (2005) A system for simultaneously measuring contact force, ultrasound, and position information for use in force-based correction of freehand scanning. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 52(8):1330–1342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Huang Q, Lan J, Li X (2019) Robotic arm based automatic ultrasound scanning for three-dimensional Imaging. IEEE Trans Ind Inform 15(2):1173–1182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Fujiwara E, Wu YT, Dos Santos MFM, Schenkel EA, Suzuki CK (2017) Development of a tactile sensor based on optical fiber specklegram analysis and sensor data fusion technique. Sens Actuator A-Phys 263:677–686

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Fujiwara E, Ferreira M, Dos Santos MFM, Suzuki CK (2014) Flexible optical fiber bending transducer for application in glove-based sensors. IEEE Sens J 14(10):3631–3636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Ahmadi R, Packirisamy M, Dargahi J, Cecere R (2012) Discretely loaded beam-type optical fiber tactile sensor for tissue manipulation and palpation in minimally invasive robotic surgery. IEEE Sens J 12(1):22–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Graumann C, Fuerst B, Hennersperger C, Bork F, Navab N (2016) Robotic ultrasound trajectory planning for volume of interest coverage. In: IEEE international conference on robotics and automation (ICRA), pp 736–741

  26. Miller D, Lippert C, Vollmar V, Bozinov O, Benes L, Schulte DM, Sure U (2012) Comparison of different reconstruction algorithms for three dimensional ultrasound imaging in a neurosurgical setting. Int J Med Robot Comput Assist Surg 8(3):348–359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Gobbi DG, Peters TM (2002) Interactive intra-operative 3D ultrasound reconstruction and visualization. In: Proceedings of the international conference on medical image computing and computer-assisted intervention, pp 156–163

  28. Chen S, Wang F, Lin Y, Shi Q, Wang Y (2021) Ultrasound-guided needle insertion robotic system for percutaneous puncture. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-020-02300-1

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51575343).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Shihang Chen, Yanping Lin & Qixin Cao

  2. Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaojun Li & Fang Wang

  3. Institute of Medical Robotics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Yanping Lin & Qixin Cao

Authors
  1. Shihang Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhaojun Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yanping Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Qixin Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yanping Lin.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and animals rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. No animal experiments were performed in this study.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

pringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, S., Li, Z., Lin, Y. et al. Automatic ultrasound scanning robotic system with optical waveguide-based force measurement. Int J CARS 16, 1015–1025 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-021-02385-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-021-02385-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation