An Ultrasound-Guided Real-Time Automatic Navigation Framework for Magnetic Guidewire Robots to Improve Interventional Surgery

Magnetic continuum robots (MCRs) with active steering capability hold great promise for improving interventional surgery due to their flexibility and controllability. However, achieving real-time tracking and automatic navigation of MCRs in tissue-mimicking multi-bifurcated vessels remains a significant challenge. This work proposes an ultrasound-guided real-time automatic navigation framework for magnetic guidewire robots to improve interventional surgery, including modeling, simulation, tracking and control. An ultrasound-guided magnetically controlled guidewire robot system (UMCGRS) is designed and validated in 3D vascular phantom. An equilibrium guidewire model is established to describe the quasi-static behavior of MCRs in a permanent magnetic field and to derive the control Jacobian for guidewire tip control, which is validated by magnetic navigation simulation. A network-based real-time ultrasound tracking method is developed for accurate guidewire detection (average detection error of 0.81 mm across various vessels), and a model-based path tracking control strategy is proposed for guidewire navigation. Experiments in a femoral artery gelatin phantom with tissue-mimicking environments demonstrate the effectiveness of the tracking and control (average tracking error of 1.50 ± 0.30 mm). The proposed UMCGRS and automatic navigation framework are expected to enhance the autonomy of MCRs, and will provide a reliable solution for improving interventional surgery.