Hill and Vanderbilt University researchers have been working on an extremely bendy but sturdy robot capable of traversing lung tissue .
Their research has reached a new milestone . In a new paper , published in Science Robotics , Ron Alterovitz , PhD , in the UNC Department of Computer Science , and Jason Akulian , MD MPH , in the UNC Department of Medicine , have proven that their robot can autonomously go from “ Point A ” to “ Point B ” while avoiding important structures , such as tiny airways and blood vessels , in a living laboratory model .
“ This technology allows us to reach targets we can ’ t otherwise reach with a standard or even robotic bronchoscope ,” said Dr . Akulian , co-author on the paper and Section Chief of Interventional Pulmonology and Pulmonary Oncology in the UNC Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine . “ It gives you that extra few centimeters or few millimeters even , which would help immensely with pursuing small targets in the lungs .”
The development of the autonomous steerable needle robot leveraged UNC ’ s highly collaborative culture by blending medicine , computer science , and engineering expertise . In addition to Alterovitz and Akulian , the development effort included Yueh Z . Lee , MD , PhD , at the UNC Department of Radiology , as well as Robert J . Webster III at Vanderbilt University and Alan Kuntz at the University of Utah .
Jason Akulian , MD , MPH
The robot is made of several separate components . A mechanical control provides controlled thrust of the needle to go forward and backward and the needle design allows for steering along curved paths . The needle is made from a nickeltitanium alloy and has been laser etched to increase its flexibility , allowing it to move effortlessly through tissue .