Evaluation of robotic needle insertion in conjunction with in vivo manual insertion in the operating room

Precise interstitial intervention is quite challenging because of several reasons. Researchers have reported in vitro needle insertion forces encountered while steering through soft tissue and soft material phantoms. Hardly any in vivo force measurement data is available in the literature. In this paper, we present needle insertion forces and torques measured during actual brachytherapy procedure in the operating room (OR). We highlight human factors involved in the surgical needle intervention during prostate seed implant (PSI) procedures. We believe that some of the issues can be eliminated or reduced using a robotic system. We have also presented in vitro data during robotic needle insertion into animal soft tissue phantoms and compared with manual insertions.