A distributed model for needle-tissue friction in percutaneous interventions

This paper presents a new approach to account for distributed friction in needle insertion in soft tissue. As is well known, friction is a complex nonlinear phenomenon, and it appears that classical or static models are unable to capture some of the observations in systems subject to significant frictional effects. To characterize dynamic features when the needle is very flexible and friction plays an important role in bending mechanics or when a stop-and-start planning scenario is implemented at low insertion velocities, a distributed LuGre model can be adopted. Experimental results using an artificial phantom illustrate that the proposed method is capable of representing the main features of friction which is a major force component in needle-tissue interaction during percutaneous interventions.