N eedle insertion is a critical aspect of many medical treatments, diagnostic methods, and scientific studies, and is considered to be one of the simplest and most minimally invasive medical procedures. Robot-assisted needle steering has the potential to improve the effectiveness of existing medical procedures and enable new ones by allowing increased accuracy through more dexterous control of ...

PURPOSE In this study, the authors introduce skew line needle configurations for high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy and needle planning by integer program (NPIP), a computational method for generating these configurations. NPIP generates needle configurations that are specific to the anatomy of the patient, avoid critical structures near the penile bulb and other healthy structures, and avoid n...

In this paper, we describe a visual feedback system using a stereoscopic microscope. The system controls a micromanipulator so that a needle head may pierce a target as much length as desired. The tip position of the needle head and the target under the microscope are measured three dimensionally with two CCD cameras that are set to the eyepieces of the microscope. However, the visual feedback ...

Needle insertion is commonly performed in minimally invasive medical procedures such as biopsy and radiation cancer treatment. During such procedures, accurate needle tip placement is critical for correct diagnosis or successful treatment. Accurate placement of the needle tip inside tissue is challenging, especially when the target moves and anatomical obstacles must be avoided. We develop a ne...

BACKGROUND Totally implanted ports (TIP) have become a standard part of patient care, providing long-term central venous access for treatment administration and other procedures. Despite overall the safety and effectiveness of TIP, complications still occur. Negative pressure created during needle withdrawal induces blood reflux and subsequent catheter occlusion. Application of positive pressur...

The mechanism of action of acupuncture remains largely unknown. The reaction to acupuncture needling known as 'de qi', widely viewed as essential to the therapeutic effect of acupuncture, may be a key to understanding its mechanism of action. De qi includes a characteristic needling sensation, perceived by the patient, and 'needle grasp' perceived by the acupuncturist. During needle grasp, the ...

Diagnostic and therapeutic image-guided percutaneous interventions have become increasingly important in the clinical management of various conditions. Though precise needle placement via a safe route is essential for successful percutaneous interventions, it is often difficult in cases of deeply situated, small lesions. The present paper describes the efficacy of the directable needle guide (D...