Development of a precision system for image-guided needle placement

Abstract

Advances in medical technology enable an ongoing transition from invasive, open surgery to minimally invasive diagnostics and intervention. In the field of oncology, percutaneous techniques have emerged in which biopsy and ablation of tumours are performed via a needle through the skin using image-guidance. The objective of this research is the development of a precision system for image-guided percutaneous needle placement in the thorax and abdomen to improve upon the convenstional freehand method. It covers the entire strategic, architectural and detail design and realization of a complete system from first idea to prototype, its technical verification, its integration in the intervention suite and its pre-clinical validation, up to its first deployment in clinical practice.