Robotic-assisted Ultrasound for Fetal Imaging: Evolution from Single-arm to Dual-arm System
This work addresses the problem of manual ultrasound probe manipulation in fetal imaging, offering a robotic solution that could improve scanning comfort and efficiency for patients and healthcare providers, though it appears incremental as part of an ongoing project.
The paper presents the development of robotic-assisted ultrasound systems, including single-arm and dual-arm versions, for fetal imaging, with preliminary testing on 42 volunteers validating reliable operation and indicating a comfortable scanning experience and good acceptance rates.
The development of robotic-assisted extracorporeal ultrasound systems has a long history and a number of projects have been proposed since the 1990s focusing on different technical aspects. These aim to resolve the deficiencies of on-site manual manipulation of hand-held ultrasound probes. This paper presents the recent ongoing developments of a series of bespoke robotic systems, including both single-arm and dual-arm versions, for a project known as intelligent Fetal Imaging and Diagnosis (iFIND). After a brief review of the development history of the extracorporeal ultrasound robotic system used for fetal and abdominal examinations, the specific aim of the iFIND robots, the design evolution, the implementation details of each version, and the initial clinical feedback of the iFIND robot series are presented. Based on the preliminary testing of these newly-proposed robots on 42 volunteers, the successful and re-liable working of the mechatronic systems were validated. Analysis of a participant questionnaire indicates a comfortable scanning experience for the volunteers and a good acceptance rate to being scanned by the robots.