Clinical and Translational Research
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 26, 2020; 8(16): 3440-3449
Published online Aug 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i16.3440
Accuracy study of a binocular-stereo-vision-based navigation robot for minimally invasive interventional procedures
Ran Wang, Ying Han, Min-Zhou Luo, Nai-Kun Wang, Wei-Wei Sun, Shi-Chong Wang, Hua-Dong Zhang, Li-Juan Lu
Ran Wang, Ying Han, Nai-Kun Wang, Wei-Wei Sun, Shi-Chong Wang, Li-Juan Lu, Department of Pain Management, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu Province, China
Min-Zhou Luo, Hua-Dong Zhang, Institute of Intelligent Manufacturing Technology, Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute, Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Lu LJ initiated the study; Lu LJ and Wang R designed the experiment; Han Y performed the robot guided puncture procedure; Wang SC completed the computed tomography scanning and image processing; Wang NK and Sun WW recorded the observational indexes; Luo MZ and Zhang HD were responsible for teaching robot application; Wang R completed the statistical work and wrote the article; Lu LJ revised the article.
Supported by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology, No. BE2017603 and No. BE2017675.
Institutional review board statement: This study did not involve any patient or animal; therefore, the experimental proposal was not submitted for review of institutional review board.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study did not involve any patients; therefore, the experimental proposal was not registered.
Informed consent statement: This study did not involve any patient.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare having nothing to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Juan Lu, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Pain Management, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu Province, China. lulijuan@njglyy.com
Received: April 8, 2020
Peer-review started: April 8, 2020
First decision: April 24, 2020
Revised: May 7, 2020
Accepted: July 18, 2020
Article in press: July 18, 2020
Published online: August 26, 2020
Processing time: 138 Days and 22.9 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Medical robot is a promising surgical tool, but no specific one has been designed for interventional treatment of chronic pain. We developed a computed tomography-image based navigation robot using new registration method with binocular vision. This kind of robot is appropriate for minimal invasive interventional procedures and easy to operate.

Research motivation

The feasibility, accuracy and stability of this new robot need to be tested before clinical application.

Research objectives

To assess quantitatively the feasibility, accuracy and stability of the binocular-stereo-vision-based navigation robot for minimally invasive interventional procedures.

Research methods

A box model was designed for assessing the accuracy for targets at different distances. Nine (three sets) lead spheres were embedded in the model as puncture goals. The entry-to-target distances were set 50 mm (short-distance), 100 mm (medium-distance) and 150 mm (long-distance). Puncture procedure was repeated three times for each goal. The Euclidian error of each puncture was calculated and statistically analyzed. Three head phantoms were used to explore clinical feasibility and stability. Three independent operators conducted foramen ovale placement on head phantoms (both sides) by freehand or under the guidance of robot (18 punctures with each method). The operation time, adjustment time and one-time success rate were recorded, and the two guidance methods were compared.

Research results

On the box model, the mean puncture errors of navigation robot were 1.7 ± 0.9 mm for the short-distance target, 2.4 ± 1.0 mm for the moderate target and 4.4 ± 1.4 mm for the long-distance target. On the head phantom, no obvious differences in operation time and adjustment time were found among the three performers (P > 0.05). The median adjustment time was significantly less under the guidance of the robot than under free hand. The one-time success rate was significantly higher with the robot (P < 0.05). There was no obvious difference in operation time between the two methods (P > 0.05). The accuracy measurement was conducted on still models, and further clinical research on patients need to be conducted.

Research conclusions

In laboratory environment, accuracy of binocular-stereo-vision-based navigation robot is acceptable for target at 100 mm depth or less. Compared with freehand, foramen ovale placement accuracy can be improved with robot guidance.

Research perspectives

Based on our research, binocular-stereo-vision-based navigation robot is a promising system in the future. It deserves promotion after clinical verification, especially for interventional treatment of chronic pain.