Towards Autonomous Neuroendovascular Interventions
Abstract: Minimally invasive neuroendovascular interventions are the standard for treating cerebrovascular pathologies, but they are time-sensitive and reliant on operator skill. Our goal is to address this by developing a semi-autonomous robotic solution suitable for remote or mobile centers. This system navigates telescopic tools to a target location using pre-operative CTA or MRA images and intra-operative fluoroscopy images.
Through this talk, I will cover four main components of our approach: a static model that predicts tool behavior inside the anatomy, planning strategies for steering these tools through the vessels, design optimization algorithm to generate the ideal patient-specific tool properties and tip-shapes, and a custom robot that uses this to automatically shape the tool tip.
Bio: Aabha Tamhankar is a Robotics PhD candidate at WPI, specializing in the localization and navigation of robotics for medical applications. She earned her Master’s degree in Robotics Engineering from WPI, where her thesis, “Image Guidance and Safe Insertion Region Localization for Lumbar Puncture using Ultrasound,” aimed to create a real-time visualization tool for the lumbar spine and entry locations for guiding in lumbar puncture procedures. Aabha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Robotics & Automation from MIT-WPU in Pune, India. Beyond her academic pursuits, she enjoys art, swimming, and hiking.