Computer assisted photoacoustic imaging guided device for safer percutaneous needle operations

摘要

Inadvertent cuts to blood vessels and nerves poses a significant risk during percutaneous needle procedures, often leadingto serious injuries and even death. We propose a computer-assisted photoacoustic imaging-based device that is able todetect these vascular structures and robotically guide the surgeons in avoiding them. A fiber-coupled pulsed laser diodecapable of generating photoacoustic signals is attached through a ferrule, where a 2.5 mm diameter ultrasound ringtransducer receives the corresponding photoacoustic waves. The integrated device is secured on an XYZ axis lineartranslational stage configuration, and robotically navigated through vessel-modelling phantoms to reach a targeted regionof interest. A steering feedback algorithm calculates the relative position of the device with respect to each vessel, generatesa 2D map of the navigational plane, and controls the stages to steer the device accordingly towards the target while avoidingthe vessels. We first ran the algorithm in a water phantom to demonstrate feasibility, and then in a milk solution to modelreal tissue scattering. Our proposed device successfully avoids the phantom blood vessels in both cases throughphotoacoustic detection, and the corresponding 2D navigational path and plane through the phantom is mapped andrecorded. Our results demonstrate that a computer-assisted photoacoustic imaging-based device is a viable method ofintraoperatively guiding percutaneous needle procedures. The ability of our proposed guidance device to detect and avoiddamage to blood vessels and nerves can further be used to optimize biopsies and tumor removal procedures in variousparts of the body.