Visualization, Planning, and Monitoring Software for MRI-Guided Prostate Intervention Robot

This paper reports an interactive software interface for visualization, planning, and monitoring of intra-prostatic needle placement procedures performed with a robotic assistant device inside standard cylindrical high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. We use anatomical visualization and image processing techniques to plan the process and apply active tracking coils to localize the robot in realtime to monitor its motion relative to the anatomy. The interventional system is in Phase-I clinical trials for prostate biopsy and marker seed placement. The system concept, mechanical design, and in-vivo canine studies have been presented earlier [6,10,14]. The software architecture and three-dimensional application software interface discussed in this paper are new additions. This software was tested on pre-recorded patient data.