Ryosuke Tsumura1, Hiroyasu Iwata2. 1. Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. ryosuke-tsumura@iwata.mech.waseda.ac.jp. 2. Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists has intensified in developed countries. Our long-term goal is to develop a robotic prenatal care platform for automatic ultrasound (US) scanning to improve the workflow efficiency of obstetricians and gynecologists. This paper develops a hardware platform for the positioning of the US probe to obtain diagnostic US images while satisfying safety requirements of the fetus and pregnant woman. METHOD: The proposed system includes a mechanism that maintains the contact force in a certain range and passively adjusts the US probe posture relative to the body surface. The system is designed according to clinical survey data. For proof of concept, we conducted a robotic US scan with an agar phantom and three pregnant women under the operation of a physician. RESULTS: Experimental results show the passive US scan motion followed the phantom surface with an acceptable contact force (< 15 N). Clinical trials were safely carried out with observations of fetal body parts. CONCLUSION: Our proposed platform acquired US images with satisfactory contact forces in the phantom study. The feasibility of the platform was demonstrated in a clinical study.
PURPOSE: The shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists has intensified in developed countries. Our long-term goal is to develop a robotic prenatal care platform for automatic ultrasound (US) scanning to improve the workflow efficiency of obstetricians and gynecologists. This paper develops a hardware platform for the positioning of the US probe to obtain diagnostic US images while satisfying safety requirements of the fetus and pregnant woman. METHOD: The proposed system includes a mechanism that maintains the contact force in a certain range and passively adjusts the US probe posture relative to the body surface. The system is designed according to clinical survey data. For proof of concept, we conducted a robotic US scan with an agar phantom and three pregnant women under the operation of a physician. RESULTS: Experimental results show the passive US scan motion followed the phantom surface with an acceptable contact force (< 15 N). Clinical trials were safely carried out with observations of fetal body parts. CONCLUSION: Our proposed platform acquired US images with satisfactory contact forces in the phantom study. The feasibility of the platform was demonstrated in a clinical study.