2022/03/15 by Edward W Johnston, Edward W. Johnston, Jodie Basso +7
Engineering · Medicine · #Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis #Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques #Soft Robotics and Applications
paper · doi:10.1259/bjr.20220217
openalex publication_date 2022/03/15 · crossref created 2022/03/15 · crossref issued 2022/03/21 · crossref published 2022/03/21 · crossref published-online 2022/03/21 · crossref published-print 2022/06/01 · crossref deposited 2024/05/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Objective A commercially available CT-guided robot offers enhanced abilities in planning, targeting, and confirming accurate needle placement. In this short communication, we describe our first UK experience of robotic interventional oncology procedures. Methods We describe the device, discuss installation, operation, and report upon needle insertion success, accuracy (path deviation; PD and tip deviation; TD), number of adjustments, complications, and procedural success. Results Nine patients (seven males), median age 66 years (range 43–79) were consented for biopsy or ablation between March and April 2021. Needle placement in biopsy was more accurate than ablation (median 1 vs 11 mm PD and 1 vs 20 mm TD) and required fewer adjustments (median 0 vs 5). No complications arose, and all procedures were successful (diagnostic material obtained or complete ablation at follow-up). Conclusion Short procedure times and very high levels of accuracy were readily achieved with biopsy procedures, although tumour ablation was less accurate which likely reflects higher procedural complexity. Advances in knowledge Achieving highly accurate robotic biopsy with is feasible within a very short time span. Further work is required to maximise the potential of robotic guidance in tumour ablation procedures, which is likely due to higher complexity giving a longer learning curve.