Researchers from the University of Twente in The Netherlands, Siemens, KUKA, and universities in Verona, Italy, and Vienna, Austria, are working on a robotic biopsy system to improve the accuracy of tissue sampling. The technology is aimed at harnessing the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging for localizing target tissues while using ultrasound and pressure sensing to help navigate the needle.
The researchers are currently working, among other things, on translating what is visible under MRI to correlate with what is being imaged by the robot in real time. Once the two are brought to match each other, the robotic needle should be able to precisly sample the tissue that is so clearly seen under MRI.