title: Design and validation of a robotic needle positioning system for small animal imaging applications.
abstract: A needle-positioning robot has been developed for image-guided interventions in small animals. The device is designed to position a needle with an error < or =100 microm. The robot has two rotational axes (pitch and roll) to control needle orientation, and one linear axis to perform needle insertion. The three axes intersect at a single point, creating a remote center of motion. Needle positioning error was quantified at ten target locations for each rotational plane. The measured needle positioning accuracy in free space was 54 +/-12 microm and 91 +/- 21 microm for the pitch and roll axes, respectively. The device's accuracy compares favorably with the sizes of typical interventional targets in mouse models.
authors.affiliation: University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. awaspe@imaging.robarts.ca
authors.forename: Adam C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Waspe
authors.forename: H Jason
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cakiroglu
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lacefield
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fenster
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000662:veterinary*; D007267:Injections / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000662:veterinary*; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000662:veterinary*; D009339:Needles; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity