XACT Robotic Needle Navigation System Cleared in EU for Percutaneous Procedures
XACT Robotics out of Caesarea, Israel won EU approval to introduce its needle steering and insertion system for percutaneous procedures including biopsies and ablations. The robotic device gives physicians a more accurate and precise way of moving needles toward difficult to reach targets. The robot is placed on the patient during a procedure and it works in conjunction with a CT scanner and planning software to make sure the needle moves as desired.
The system takes into account patient breathing and other body movements and compensates for those. If the system detects that the needle is outside the planned pathway, which it does nearly immediately, the path can be corrected without having to move the patient or reinsert the needle.
The movement of the needle is controlled using five degrees-of-freedom of the robot, which is done from the comfort of a control room overlooking the operating table. As the needle proceeds, the physician has real-time control of its movements and can stop or adjust its trajectory at any time and with great precision.
source - https://www.medgadget.com