Overview

This tutorial demonstrates how to integrate a virtual version of the SmartTemplate robotic system with SlicerROS2 for planning and monitoring MRI-guided robot-assisted prostate biopsies. This tutorial provides a simplified but functional framework to understand the real-world integration of medical imaging (3D Slicer) and robotics (ROS 2) for image-guided interventions.

The tutorial is focused on:

  • Connecting robot kinematics to MRI-guided workflow
  • Simulating robotic needle alignment and insertion using a virtual robot
  • Performing coordinate transformations between image, robot, and world frames using tf2

Clinical Context

In MRI-guided transperineal prostate biopsy, a needle is inserted through the patient’s perineum to reach a lesion within the prostate, identified on MRI.

Traditionally, this procedure uses a needle guide template placed perpendicular to the perineum. The physician selects a pre-defined hole in the template that best aligns the needle along a straight-line trajectory to the target.

However, the fixed hole grid imposes discretization limitations, affecting targeting precision.

Robot-Assisted Solution: SmartTemplate

The SmartTemplate is a robotic needle guide that replaces the fixed template grid. It allows continuous positioning of the needle guide across the template plane, improving targeting accuracy by eliminating hole discretization.

The robot-assisted biopsy workflow consists of:

  • Registration of the robot to the MRI coordinate system
  • Target selection within the prostate on MR images
  • Needle alignment outside the patient, along a straight-line trajectory to the target
  • Needle insertion, passing through the perineum and reaching the target

What You’ll Do in This Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will:

  • Use a virtual SmartTemplate robot in a simulated ROS 2 + 3D Slicer environment
  • Register the robot to the MRI scanner coordinates using ZFrame fiducials
  • Select a target in the prostate using the 3D Slicer medical imaging software
  • From within 3D Slicer, command the robot’s motion to align and insert the needle along a straight-line trajectory to the target
⬅️ Back to Prerequisites Next: SmartTemplate Robot ➡️ Back to Table of Contents ↩️