Robotics and machine learning approaches to improve robustness of USgFUS: FUTURA

Surgical robotics, machine learning for medical imaging, and focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) have the same long term goals: reducing invasiveness of therapies, augmenting the number of treatable diseases and, more in general, helping the healthcare system in terms of costs and benefits. Potentials from synergies among these fields are undeniable; cross-fertilization are expected to advance the applicability, robustness and safety of noninvasive therapies. Ultrasound guided FUS is a promising strategy for the treatment of pathologies in the abdomen. However, some limitations dramatically slow a widespread diffusion in operating rooms, such as the limited accuracy, the 2D monitoring and the time cost for registration and repositioning.