Needle path planning for autonomous robotic surgical suturing

Abstract

This paper develops a path plan for suture needles used with solid tissue volumes in endoscopic surgery. The path trajectory is based on the best practices that are used by surgeons. The path attempts to minimize the interaction forces between the tissue and the needle. Using surgical guides as a basis, two different techniques for driving a suture needle are developed. The two techniques are compared in hardware experiments by robotically driving the suture needle using both of the motion plans.