RI: Medium: Active Sensing, Localization, and Mapping in Dynamic Deformable Environments for Image-Guided Interventions

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This study aims to address two important research problems in realizing intelligent robotic systems for image-guided needle and catheter based surgical interventions. The first research thrust focuses on localization and tracking of flexible instruments and anatomical targets during the surgical intervention using medical imaging. Algorithms for robustly tracking the instrument, target tissue, and other relevant anatomical structures, including obstacles and anatomical structures that need to be avoided, under noisy, incomplete sensor measurements are essential for the robotic system for successfully performing the procedure. The second research thrust aims to develop algorithms for dynamically controlling the medical imaging system during the procedure. The goal is to minimize the number of sensor measurements, and hence reduce costs associated with sensing, while still obtaining sufficient sensing information. This project will have direct broad societal impacts in healthcare, by developing technologies that will improve percutaneous interventions, which are widely used for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The purpose of the present study is the development of methods for active control of intra-operative medical imaging systems for localization and tracking of instruments and anatomical structures during percutaneous interventions. Specifically, the research will focus on development of algorithms for active localization and mapping in dynamic deformable environments, and active sensing algorithms for dynamically controlling intra-operative imaging system. The developed technologies will be realized in hardware and validated in benchtop experimental studies on a clinical interventional magnetic resonance imaging system using real-time magnetic resonance imaging techniques. The intellectual merit of the project comes from the scientific contributions to the fields of robotics and medical imaging as well as a synergistic integration of the two technologies.