Registration of a needle-positioning robot to high-resolution 3-D ultrasound and computed tomography for image-guided interventions in small animals

Preclinical research often requires the delivery of biological substances to specific locations in small animals. Guiding a needle to targets in small animals with an error < 200 mu m requires accurate registration. We are developing techniques to register a needle-positioning robot to high-resolution three-dimensional ultrasound and computed tomography small animal imaging systems. Both techniques involve moving the needle to predetermined robot coordinates and determining corresponding needle locations in image coordinates. Registration accuracy will therefore be affected by the robot positioning error and is assessed by measuring the target registration error (TRE). A point-based registration between robot and micro-ultrasound coordinates was accomplished by attaching a fiducial phantom onto the needle. A TRE of 145 mu m was achieved when moving the needle to a set of robot coordinates and registering the coordinates to needle tip locations determined from ultrasound fiducial measurements. Registration between robot and micro-CT coordinates was accomplished by injecting barium sulfate into tracks created when the robot withdraws the needle from a phantom. Points along cross-sectional slices of the segmented needle tracks were determined using an intensity-weighted centroiding algorithm. A minimum distance TRE of 194 +/- 18 mu m was achieved by registering centroid points to robot trajectories using the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. Simulations, incorporating both robot and ultrasound fiducial localization errors, verify that robot error is a significant component of the experimental registration. Simulations of micro-CT to robot ICP registration similarly agree with the experimental results. Both registration techniques produce a TRE < 200 mu m, meeting design specification.