Design, Kinematic Modeling, and Validation of a Robotic-Assisted Transesophageal Echocardiography System

Abstract

Transesophageal Echocardiography is a safe and minimally invasive tool to provide high-quality anatomic and hemodynamic information of the heart and its structures. However, the risk of exposure to a significant level of radiation during combined fluoroscopy and TEE-guided examinations and musculoskeletal disorders due to holding the probe for prolonged periods of time are two main shortcomings of using TEE manually. This paper presents the design, kinematic modeling, and validation of a novel 6 DOF robotic-assisted transesophageal echocardiography system to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings. The robotic system has been designed based on a commercially available TEE probe with 5 actuated Degrees of freedom on the TEE handle and an extra DOF to control the imaging plane. The constant curvature model is employed for the forward and inverse kinematic modeling of the robotic system. The kinematic model and the performance of the robotic system are validated with an experimental setup using a 6DOF OptiTrack real-time tracking system.