The introduction of one or more needles into a patient’s anatomy is a common component in a broad class of minimally invasive therapies. Systems which implement this capability vary widely, in terms of imaging, planning, and placement techniques. In the first part of this talk, I will present work on several of these systems we have developed, utilizing CT, fluoroscopic, and ultrasonic imaging in conjunction with robotic and free-hand placement.
These procedures, however, share a common structure and, unlike many surgical procedures, the actual execution of a needle placement is a very constrained task. It is this restricted nature which makes needle placement an inviting target, both for such particular, application-specific systems, and for a more general treatment. The second part of the presentation focuses on the development of a unified representation for this class of systems. Representing the geometric, device, and algorithmic components of these systems, this framework allows for configuration, implementation and analysis of particular systems assembled from modular components. I will present an overview of this representation system, as well as discussing its implementation and progress in its validation.