As it moves forward , the etching on the needle allows it to steer around obstacles with ease . Other attachments , such as catheters , could be used together with the needle to perform procedures such as lung biopsies .
To drive through tissue , the needle needs to know where it is going . The research team used CT scans of the subject ’ s thoracic cavity and artificial intelligence to create threedimensional models of the lung , including the airways , blood vessels , and the chosen target . Using this 3-D model and once the needle has been positioned for launch , their AI-driven software instructs it to automatically travel from “ Point A ” to “ Point B ” while avoiding important structures .
“ The autonomous steerable needle we ’ ve developed is highly compact , but the system is packed with a suite of technologies that allow the needle to navigate autonomously in real-time ,” said Alterovitz , the principal investigator on the project and senior author on the paper . “ It ’ s akin to a self-driving car , but it navigates through lung tissue , avoiding obstacles like significant blood vessels as it travels to its destination .”
The needle can also account for respiratory motion . Unlike other organs , the lungs are constantly expanding and contracting in the chest cavity . This can make targeting especially difficult in a living , breathing subject . According to Akulian , it ’ s like shooting at a moving target .
The researchers tested their robot while the laboratory model performed intermittent breath holding . Every time the subject ’ s breath is held , the robot is programmed to move forward .
Ron Alterovitz , PhD
“ There remain some nuances in terms of the robot ’ s ability to acquire targets and then actually get to them effectively ,” said