Deformation Compensation in Robotically-Assisted Breast Biopsy

A major challenge of current breast biopsy procedures is lesion displacement due to needle-tissue interaction, respiration and involuntary motions, possibly causing the needle to miss the target. These deformations are intrinsically ac- counted for when the procedure is performed under ultrasound (US) guidance, but the low US resolution makes target visualization often impossible. By con- trast, MRI-guided biopsies provide high-resolution images with excellent sensi- tivity, but they do not account in any ways for breast deformations. The MRI and Ultrasound Robotic Assisted Biopsy (MURAB) project aims to solve this challenge by the use of a combination of technologies.