Needle steering
CT-guided robotics
Cancer has caused about 13% of all human deaths worldwide (2007). However, survival ratio may be improved by early detection. Diagnosis of abnormal tissue is needed before the treatments, and in fact, image-guided needle biopsy has shown to be an effective method to obtain histological tissue. Needle biopsy is commonly done manually, using stiff needles under different imaging modalities. However, complications are common in manual image-guided biopsies. Within the RICIBION (Robotic interventions using CT-Images for biopsies of lung nodules) project, a CT-guided robotic technique (hardware and software) will be developed for conducting liver and lung biopsies using steerable needles. Experiments with phantoms and, subsequently, cadaver studies will be executed.