Intelligent magnetic manipulation for gastrointestinal ultrasound

本文来自机器人领域顶刊，Science Robotics。介绍了一种用于消化道的带尾绳的磁控超声机器人。在以前的磁控拖动/定位胶囊的基础上，增加了内超声功能，利用超声信号强弱判断成像质量好坏ESR，并调整探头姿态，获取最优图像质量，利用磁控对轨迹进行闭环追踪，并做了猪体内实验。

用于消化道超声的智能磁操纵
Intelligent magnetic manipulation for gastrointestinal ultrasound [1]
Paper Link
Authors: Norton, Joseph C., et al.
2019, Science Robotics

0. 摘要 Abstract

在消化道中的检查内镜在几十年中保持不变，并受限于组织表面的可视化，用于诊断的取药样本的收集，还有最小介入，比如剪切或组织移除。在这个工作中，我们展示一个磁胶囊机器人用于显微解剖下的原位的，表皮下诊断的自动伺服。我们调查和展示了使用数字化微超声反馈的闭环磁控制的可行性；这对于在一个未知的且无限制的环境中获取鲁棒的图像是至关重要的。我们使用微超声演示了自动伺服算法的功能，基于台式试验和猪模型的体内实验。我们已经证实了这个以自动线性探头运动为实例的磁微超声伺服，并能够以$1.0\pm 0.9mm$定位精度定位一个琼脂仿体中的标记，使用机器人定位和微超声图像信息的融合。这个工作演示了在小肠中闭环机器人微超声成像的可行性，而不需要在传感器和体外工具间的刚性物理连接或者复杂的手动操纵。
Diagnostic endoscopy in the gastrointestinal tract has remained largely unchanged for decades and is limited to the visualization of the tissue surface, the collection of biopsy samples for diagnoses, and minor interventions such as clipping or tissue removal. In this work, we present the autonomous servoing of a magnetic capsule robot for in situ, subsurface diagnostics of microanatomy. We investigated and showed the feasibility of closedloop magnetic control using digitized microultrasound ($\mu$US) feedback; this is crucial for obtaining robust imaging in an unknown and unconstrained environment. We demonstrated the functionality of an autonomous servoing algorithm that uses $\mu$US feedback, both on benchtop trials and in vivo in a porcine model. We have validated this magnetic $\mu$US servoing in instances of autonomous linear probe motion and were able to locate markers in an agar phantom with $1.0\pm 0.9mm$ position accuracy using a fusion of robot localization and $\mu$US image information. This work demonstrates the feasibility of closed-loop robotic $\mu$US imaging in the bowel without the need for either a rigid physical link between the transducer and extracorporeal tools or complex manual manipulation.

1. 介绍 Introduction

消化道诊断和管理通常使用光学柔性内窥镜实施。自推出以来，尽管存在许多缺点和很少的设计改进，但这仍是当前的黄金标准。
Diagnosis and management of GI diseases are typically performed using optical flexible endoscopy (FE). This is the current gold standard despite numerous drawbacks and very few design improvements since its introduction.

通过操纵近端来推进内窥镜（推，拉，拧）导致组织伸长，这引起病人不舒服，并且在极端情况下，可对肠子穿孔。柔性内窥镜的进一步限制是小肠的检查是有挑战性的和不定期进行的。这已经激发胶囊内窥镜的开发和使用。
Advancing (pushing, pulling, and twisting) the endoscope by manipulating the proximal end results in tissue stretching that causes patient discomfort and, in extreme cases, can perforate the bowel. A further limitation of FE is that inspection of the small bowel is challenging and is not routinely conducted. This has motivated the development and use of capsule endoscopy (CE).

在这些模块中，EUS是安全且低价的，并有能力产生高解析度多截面图像。
Of these modalities, EUS is safe and low cost and has the ability to generate higher-resolution cross-sectional images

在EUS技术方面最新的发展已经研究使用高频（大于20MHz）研究薄的肠层（小于3mm）。
Recent advancements in EUS technology have enabled the study of thin (< 3 mm) bowel layers by using high-frequency(> 20MHz).

直到最近， μ \mu