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This content will become publicly available on February 5, 2025

Title: Mosquito-Inspired Cannula to Improve Control of Active Surgical Needle in Soft Tissue
Abstract

Active needles obtain more significant tip deflection and improved accuracy over passive needles for percutaneous procedures. However, their ability to navigate through tissues to reach targets depends upon the actuation mechanism, the tip shape, and the surface geometry of the shaft. In this study, we investigate the benefits of changing the surface geometry of the active needle shaft in a) needle tip deflection and b) trajectory tracking during tissue insertion. The modifications in passive needle surface geometry have been proven to reduce friction force, tissue displacement, and tissue damage. This study incorporates the effect of modifying the regular smooth cannula with a mosquito proboscis-inspired design in the active needles. The changes in insertion force, tip deflection, and trajectory tracking control during insertion into a prostate-mimicking phantom are measured. Results show that insertion force is reduced by up to 10.67% in passive bevel-tip needles. In active needles, tip deflection increased by 12.91% at 150mm when the cannula is modified. The bioinspired cannula improved trajectory tracking error in the active needle by 39% while utilizing up to 17.65% lower control duty cycle. Improving tip deflection and tracking control would lead to better patient outcomes and reduced risk of complications during percutaneous procedures.

 
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Award ID(s):
1917711
NSF-PAR ID:
10494845
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the ASME 2023 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
ISBN:
978-0-7918-8762-2
Format(s):
Medium: X
Location:
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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  2. Abstract

    Active needles demonstrate improved accuracy and tip deflection compared to their passive needle counterparts, a crucial advantage in percutaneous procedures. However, the ability of these needles to effectively navigate through tissues is governed by needle-tissue interaction, which depends on the tip shape, the cannula surface geometry, and the needle insertion method. In this research, we evaluated the effect of cannula surface modifications and the application of a vibrational insertion technique on the performance of shape memory alloy (SMA)-actuated active needles. These features were inspired by the mosquito proboscis’ unique design and skin-piercing technique that decreased the needle tissue interaction force, thus enhancing tip deflection and steering accuracy. The bioinspired features, i.e., mosquito-inspired cannula design and vibrational insertion method, in an active needle reduced the insertion force by 26.24% and increased the tip deflection by 37.11% in prostate-mimicking gel. In addition, trajectory tracking error was reduced by 48%, and control effort was reduced by 23.25%, pointing towards improved needle placement accuracy. The research highlights the promising potential of bioinspired SMA-actuated active needles. Better tracking control and increased tip deflection are anticipated, potentially leading to improved patient outcomes and minimized risk of complications during percutaneous procedures.

     
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    Conventional needles lack active mechanisms for large tip deflection to bypass obstacles or guide through a desired trajectory in needle‐based procedures, compromising accuracy and effectiveness.

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    An active needle with a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator was designed and evaluated by demonstrating deflections in tissue‐mimicking gels. Finite element simulation and real‐time needle tip deflection tracking in tissue‐mimicking gels were performed.

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    The active needle deflected 50 and 39 mm at 150 mm insertion depth in the liver and prostate mimicking gels, respectively. Reasonable simulation errors of 16.42% and 12.62% in needle deflections and small root mean squared errors of 1.42 and 1.47 mm in deflection tracking were obtained.

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