Shoulder-Mounted Robot for MRI-guided arthrography: Accuracy and mounting study

A new version of our compact and lightweight patient-mounted MRI-compatible 4 degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot for MRI-guided arthrography procedures is introduced. This robot could convert the traditional two-stage arthrography procedure (fluoroscopy-guided needle insertion followed by a diagnostic MRI scan) to a one-stage procedure, all in the MRI suite. The results of a recent accuracy study are reported. A new mounting technique is proposed and the mounting stability is investigated using optical and electromagnetic tracking on an anthropomorphic phantom. Five volunteer subjects including 2 radiologists were asked to conduct needle insertion in 4 different random positions and orientations within the robot´s workspace and the displacement of the base of the robot was investigated during robot motion and needle insertion. Experimental results show that the proposed mounting method is stable and promising for clinical application.