Healthcare robotics advances
Robot Guides Lung Needle More accurately
New Scientist, Jeremy Hsu, December 9, 2022
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill) have developed a flexible needle that can be steered by a robot into the lungs, allowing for safer, more accurate biopsies, drug delivery, cancer treatment, and other procedures. In tests involving the lungs of living pigs, three-dimensional X-rays were used to identify a target in the lungs. The researchers also developed algorithms that can identify the best path for the needle to reach the target while avoiding airways and other obstacles; the algorithms recalculate the route if issues arise. The researchers observed targeting errors of 3.4 millimeters on average for the autonomous flexible needle, versus an average of 14.7 millimeters for human physicians performing traditional bronchoscopies. ... '
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