Articles | Volume 8, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/ms-8-195-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/ms-8-195-2017
Research article
 | 
28 Jun 2017
Research article |  | 28 Jun 2017

Development of a parallel robotic system for transperineal biopsy of the prostate

Doina Pisla, Paul Tucan, Bogdan Gherman, Nicolae Crisan, Iulia Andras, Calin Vaida, and Nicolae Plitea

Abstract. Prostate cancer is the second deadliest form of cancer, even though it is less invasive and easily curable in early stages, due to the lack of an efficient and accurate diagnosis strategy. To date, the standard diagnosis procedure involves a blind biopsy with a high rate of false negative results. In order to overcome these limitations, the paper proposes the development of a novel parallel robotic structure for transperineal prostate biopsy that enables an accurate diagnosis through ultrasound-guided targeted tissue sampling. The robotic system consists of two parallel modules, each with 5 degrees of freedom (DOFs): one module guiding the transrectal ultrasound probe (TRUS) and the other guiding the biopsy gun. The two modules are designed to work together in order to help the physician with the tissue sampling of the prostate. The singular configurations of both robotic modules are analyzed and solutions for avoiding them are provided. The experimental model of the robotic structure is described along with the initial test results, which evaluate the robot accuracy for several medically relevant sets of coordinates.

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Short summary
The paper presents a parallel robot designed to manipulate the equipment of a prostate biopsy procedure (an ultrasound probe and biopsy needle). Inverse and forward kinematic models are presented along with the workspace and singularities of the robot. Using the experimental model, tests were performed and an accuracy of 1–2 mm was achieved. A fusion system between an MRI and an ultrasound image (from an endorectal probe) was developed to reduce the number of sampling points to a minimum.