Revolving Needle Driver

C10209: Revolving Robotic Needle Driver

Novelty:

A new needle driver that automates and improves accuracy for percutaneous interventions.

Value Proposition:

Image-guided robots are automated or assistive manipulators that operate based on medical images. These medical tools are currently finding applications in most medical fields, allowing the physicians to perform interventions not only under direct vision but also with the additional help of the transcutaneous data. They have the potential to precisely target the disease or the intervention site in a percutaneous, minimally invasive, fashion. Most needle robots position and/or orient a needle guide and the needle insertion is then performed manually by the physician through the guide. Currently, systems are being developed to enable an automated means of inserting the needle using needle drivers. This technology is a new, feature rich needle driver to fully automate this process. Other advantages include:

Technical Details:

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a Revolving Needle Driver (RND) for the insertion and retraction of the injection needle. The RND is attached to the robotic orientation module, which can orient in two orthogonal directions while maintaining the fixed location of a point. Two independent motion axes are provided in this design, one for inserting the needle and the other for spinning it. The needle is spun from its head through a gear transmission built together with the gripper of the needle. The RND includes mechanisms for releasing the needle quickly, automatically, and very smoothly, without moving or pushing it.

Looking for Partners:

To develop and commercialize the technology as a new insertion device in the Robotic Surgery Market.

Stage of Development:

Prototype

Data Availability:

Under CDA / NDA

Publications/Associated Cases:

Int J CARS (2008) 3:173–179.