Cable-Driven Light-Weighting and Portable System for Robotic Medical Ultrasound Imaging

Robotic ultrasound imaging systems (RUSs) have captured significant interest owing to their potential to facilitate autonomous ultrasound imaging. However, existing RUSs built upon robotic systems oriented towards conventional manufacturing struggle to navigate the variable and dynamic clinical environments. We introduce a portable and lightweight RUS designed to enhance adaptability for ultrasound imaging tasks. The proposed system features multiple parallel rings and bearings, affording it four degrees-of-freedom for precise posture control. Further enhancing its adaptability, the actuators are isolated from the mechanism and connected by a cable-sheath mechanism, resulting in a mere 519g lightweight structure that attaches to the body. Quantitative assessments indicate that within a vast workspace of 981 cm3, the posture control precision of the probe is measured at
$1.32\pm 0.1$
mm and [
$1.8\pm 1.1^{\circ }$
,
$1.9\pm 2.2^{\circ }$
,
$0.8~\pm 0.8^{\circ }$
]. The maximum compression force measured for the probe is 14.5 N. The quantitative evaluation results show that the system can attach to various parts of the human body for image acquisition. In addition, the proposed system excels in performing stable scanning procedures even in rapidly changing dynamic environments. Our system can realize imaging tasks with a much lighter structure and has the potential to be applied to more complex scenarios.