Design and Control of Robotic Systems and Devices for Medical Applications

拟议的研究涉及开发用于基于导管的医疗干预的先进机器人和其他机电一体化系统和设备的设计和控制框架。这些干预措施提供了一种可行的方法，而且往往是比外科治疗更受欢迎的方法，因为它们可以减少创伤，减少术后疼痛，并导致更快的恢复。然而，干预措施的复杂性限制了程序的可靠性和有效性。例如，在用于治疗心房颤动(一种故障电信号导致心房颤动的一种心律失常)的导管心脏消融中，必须在图像引导(主要是X射线透视)下将导管尖端准确定位在心脏内部的指定位置，以便使用射频能量进行消融。所使用的成像方式和导管固有的灵活性使介入进一步复杂化。在拟议的研究中，我们将重点介绍导管在心房颤动心脏消融中的应用。这项研究将涉及通过原型设计和实验验证来开发适当的理论，以解决使用遥控(主从)系统进行导管介入所产生的一些问题。这些系统的一个关键特征是在主从操作中使用触觉(触觉)。这一点尤其重要，因为在几项研究中已经注意到，心脏消融手术的成功不仅取决于导管消融尖端的准确定位，还取决于对接触力的控制。因此，这项拟议的研究主要集中在开发通过触觉遥控系统将这种接触力反映给临床医生的理论和技术。由此产生的技术还将使我们能够开发一种基于触觉的主从系统，用于基于导管的心脏消融的培训和技能评估系统。这项拟议的研究建立在申请者在先进机器人和控制、机电系统设计以及遥操作和触觉领域的优势之上。

The proposed research is concerned with the development of a framework for the design and control of advanced robotic and other mechatronic systems and devices for catheter-based medical interventions. These interventions provide a viable and often a preferred approach over surgical treatment because they can be performed with reduced trauma, less post-operative pain, and result in faster recovery. However, the complexity of the interventions places limitations on the reliability and effectiveness of the procedures. For example, in catheter-based cardiac ablation for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (a type of arrhythmia where faulty electrical signals cause the atria to fibrillate), the catheter tip must be positioned accurately at designated locations inside the heart under image guidance (primarily X-ray fluoroscopy) in order to perform ablation using radio-frequency energy. The imaging modality used and the inherent flexibility of the catheter further complicate the intervention. In the proposed research, we will focus on use of catheters in cardiac ablation for Atrial Fibrillation. The research will involve the development of appropriate theory with prototype designs and experimental validation to address a number of issues arising from the use of teleoperated (master-slave) systems for catheter-based interventions. A key feature of these systems is the use of haptics (sense of touch) in the master-slave operation. This is particularly important because it has been noted in several studies that the success of a cardiac ablation procedure depends not only on accurate positioning of the catheter's ablation tip but also on control of the force of contact. Therefore the proposed research has a strong focus on developing both the theory and the technology to reflect this contact force to the clinician via a haptics-enabled teleoperated system. The resulting technology will also allow us to develop a system for training and skills assessment for catheter-based cardiac ablation based on a haptics-enabled master-slave system. The proposed research builds on the strengths of the applicant in the areas of advanced robotics and control, mechatronic system design, and teleoperation and haptics.