title: An overview of systems for CT- and MRI-guided percutaneous needle placement in the thorax and abdomen.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Minimally invasive biopsies, drainages and therapies in the soft tissue organs of the thorax and abdomen are typically performed through a needle, which is inserted percutaneously to reach the target area. The conventional workflow for needle placement employs an iterative freehand technique. This article provides an overview of needle-placement systems developed to improve this method.
  
  
  METHODS
  An overview of systems for needle placement was assembled, including those found in scientific publications and patents, as well as those that are commercially available. The systems are categorized by function and tabulated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 40 systems were identified, ranging from simple passive aids to fully actuated robots.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The overview shows a wide variety of developed systems with growing complexity. However, given that only a few systems have reached commercial availability, it is clear that the technical community is struggling to develop solutions that are adopted clinically. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: DEMCON Advanced Mechatronics, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maarten M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Arnolli
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nevan C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Hanumara
authors.affiliation: DEMCON Advanced Mechatronics, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franken
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Mechanical Automation and Mechatronics, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dannis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Brouwer
authors.affiliation: Robotics and Mechatronics, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ivo A M J
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Broeders
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D061705:Image-Guided Biopsy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D053783:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Interventional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009339:Needles; D011677:Punctures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011860:Radiography, Abdominal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015641:Radiography, Interventional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation
keywords: image-guided interventions; medical robotics; minimally invasive interventions; percutaneous needle placement