Steerable flexible needle with embedded shape sensing

摘要

A surgical system includes a flexible steerable needle and a shape sensor for measuring the shape of the needle. The surgical system can be manual (e.g., laparoscopic), robotic, or any combination of the two. By directly measuring the shape of the needle, complex and potentially inaccurate modeling of the needle to determine trajectory and insertion depth can be avoided in favor of much more robust direct measurement and modeling of needle shape and/or pose.

主权项

1. A flexible needle comprising:
a flexible elongate needle body with a channel and a needle lumen extending therein, the needle lumen defined by an interior surface of a wall of the flexible elongate needle body, the channel extending within the wall, the flexible elongate needle body including a distal tip portion, wherein the distal tip portion of the flexible elongate needle body is configured to pierce or puncture target tissue, wherein the channel comprises a groove; a shape sensor coupled to the flexible elongate needle body, wherein the shape sensor extends into the distal tip portion of the flexible elongate needle body and wherein the shape sensor is at least partially positioned within the groove; and a connector adapted for connecting the shape sensor to a processor for determining the shape of the flexible elongate needle body based on data from the shape sensor.