Robots Can Guide Needles and Catheters

A new purpose for robots has been found by a University in Madrid. They have taken a hybrid power-train structure robot and engineering it to allow "precise, repetitive, planned and controlled insertion," they also state that the use of a robot to insert needs and catheters would enhance the current procedure, it is lower in cost and has a shorter learning time than manual insertion of needles and catheters. Surgeries, needle insertion, catheters and stents have a wide variety of application, the sue of a robot can prefer these procedure more precisely and more controlled than by humans. The robot can do this by virtual planning which is pre-proceedure planning done by analyzing medical imagines of the patient. The use of robots for surgery are the result of the need for more effective procedures. 

The particulate robot that is being researched for needle and catheter insertion is a power-train structure with six degrees of freedom. It uses serial and parallel mechanism that are designed to guild and insert the needle or catheter. This system also has lasers and inertial units so that doctors can calibrate the hardware for each patient. This robot can also be used for manual guiding by an expert if a passive approach is needed.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131202082420.htm