Robotic Ultrasound Imaging with Haptic Guidance and Human Expert Strategies

In this paper, we investigate the strategies used by a skilled ultrasound physician and explore the functionality of a robotic ultrasound scan acquisition system. We develop a framework to record an expert radiologist’s probe motion, probe force, audio narration, and generated ultrasound images. Then, we optimize the acquired scan data to remove redundant sections and use the processed data to perform an autonomous survey scan with the robotic system. Finally, the radiologist performs a full detailed scan of the abdomen through a haptic user interface capable of long-distance remote interaction. We compare images generated at similar points in each scan and identify the same anatomy and pathologies, thus demonstrating equivalent diagnostic performance between the skilled ultrasound physician and robotic system.