Non-Contact Hand-Guided Coarse Positioning of Neurosurgical Instrument Insertion End Effector Based on Magnetic Sensing
Yitian Xian, Yichong Sun, Xiao Luo, Yingbai Hu, Limin Zou, Danny Tat Ming Chan, David Yuen Chung Chan, Zheng Li
Abstract
Despite advantages from neurosurgical systems, achieving intuitive and safe collaboration with robot during the coarse positioning of instrument insertion end effector (IIEE) remains a critical issue. In this paper, we propose a novel non-contact hand-guided method for such advancement based on magnetic sensing. First, a wearable magnet band and a magnetic sensor are designed, based on which the magnetic localization is achieved for surgeon’s hand location detection. Second, a quadratic programming-based control is implemented, to guarantee the pose-based servo performance, higher rotational manipulability for IIEE fine alignment, and joint position&velocity limits avoidance. For evaluation, two experiments are designated and conducted. Results show that the magnetic localization algorithm can achieve < 4.7 mm and 2.6° errors in a dynamic path tracking test, which can provide an accurate magnet location for hand guidance. Moveover, workflow of the proposed solution in a brain biopsy scenario demonstrates its enhancement of IIEE rotational manipulability (11.6% increase at final configuration), and safety improvement of collision avoidance when other surgeon approaches for cannula delivery. This research contributes to enhanced intuitiveness and safety for surgeon-robot collaborative coarse positioning of IIEE in neurosurgery.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2025_noncontacthandgu,
title = {Non-Contact Hand-Guided Coarse Positioning of Neurosurgical Instrument Insertion End Effector Based on Magnetic Sensing},
author = {Yitian Xian and Yichong Sun and Xiao Luo and Yingbai Hu and Limin Zou and Danny Tat Ming Chan and David Yuen Chung Chan and Zheng Li},
booktitle = {IROS 2025},
year = {2025}
}