Sliding-based image-guided 3D needle steering in soft tissue

This paper presents a sliding-based method for steering beveled-tip needles in a 3D environment. The controller determines the needle roll angle using the needle tip position deviation, obtained from ultrasound images, and its first time derivative. The stability of the closed-loop system is analyzed using 3D unicycle model for the needle, as a result of which parameter constraints are derived. In this method the needle is steered by performing adjustments of needle orientation, which reduces the tissue trauma and injury. The performance of this method is verified by performing experiments using phantom tissue for environments with and without obstacles.