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. 2021 Apr 22;21(9):2927.
doi: 10.3390/s21092927.

An Improved Sensing Method of a Robotic Ultrasound System for Real-Time Force and Angle Calibration

Kuan-Ju Wang  1   2 , Chieh-Hsiao Chen  2   3 , Jia-Jin Jason Chen  1 , Wei-Siang Ciou  2 , Cheng-Bin Xu  1 , Yi-Chun Du  1   4
Affiliations

An Improved Sensing Method of a Robotic Ultrasound System for Real-Time Force and Angle Calibration

Kuan-Ju Wang et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

An ultrasonic examination is a clinically universal and safe examination method, and with the development of telemedicine and precision medicine, the robotic ultrasound system (RUS) integrated with a robotic arm and ultrasound imaging system receives increasing attention. As the RUS requires precision and reproducibility, it is important to monitor the real-time calibration of the RUS during examination, especially the angle of the probe for image detection and its force on the surface. Additionally, to speed up the integration of the RUS and the current medical ultrasound system (US), the current RUSs mostly use a self-designed fixture to connect the probe to the arm. If the fixture has inconsistencies, it may cause an operating error. In order to improve its resilience, this study proposed an improved sensing method for real-time force and angle calibration. Based on multichannel pressure sensors, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), and a novel sensing structure, the ultrasonic probe and robotic arm could be simply and rapidly combined, which rendered real-time force and angle calibration at a low cost. The experimental results show that the average success rate of the downforce position identification achieved was 88.2%. The phantom experiment indicated that the method could assist the RUS in the real-time calibration of both force and angle during an examination.

Keywords: inertial measurement unit (IMU); low cost; multichannel pressure sensors; phantom test; robotic ultrasound system (RUS).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
System architecture.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structural representation of the flexible thin film pressure sensor.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic diagrams before and after IMU Euler angle correction: (a) schematic diagram of the Euler angle orientation of the IMU fixed to the robot arm; (b) schematic diagram of the Euler angle orientation of the IMU mapped on the ultrasonic probe after correction.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Schematic diagram of the sensing structure; (b) schematic diagram of the internal structure.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Stereogram of the hardware device.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic diagram of the multi-point diaphragm force-sensing correlation test.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Linear regression results between the A/D values and testing force (N).
Figure 8
Figure 8
The different positions of the downforce angle and related force signals.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(a) Schematic diagram of the fixture structure molds with different clearances; (b) schematic diagram of the phantom test.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The variance of the measurement angle with different spacer thicknesses.
Figure 11
Figure 11
(a) Abdominal cavity phantom CT image; (b) 3D modeling by measuring method for liver on a CT image; (c) stereogram of the gel-prepared phantom; (d) phantom ultrasonic image and tumor location.
Figure 12
Figure 12
(a) Schematic diagram of the phantom test; (b) ultrasonic image test for a liver gel phantom model of the system.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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