Initial clinical experience with a robotic assistance system for liver biopsies in a diagnostic 1.5T MR scanner

Introduction/Purpose Freehand MR-guided biopsies in a closed-bore MRI scanner are typically performed by iterative cycles of visual targeting, manual instrument feed (outside the bore) and verification of the actual position with MR imaging (inside the bore) [1]. Based on the potential needle offset seen on the MR image, the physician uses a mental representation of the 3D geometry to reposition the instrument. Image guidance may be improved by providing the physician with geometrically aligned image information during instrument feed (navigation). An alternative solution is to attach the instrument to a device which allows to realize a trajectory according to an MR image-defined trajectory. The aim of this work is to report about our initial clinical experience of using a commercial robotic assistance system to perform percutaneous liver biopsies in a diagnostic MR scanner.