Multiactuator Haptic Feedback on the Wrist for Needle Steering Guidance in Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is a cancer treatment procedure where long needles are inserted toward an inner body target in order to deliver radioactive seeds that treat the cancer cells. Controlling the trajectory of the needle is very challenging as it deviates from a straight path during insertion. In this letter, we present the pilot study of usefulness of a wristband with haptic feedback designed to help surgeons guide the needle toward a desired destination. The wristband embeds eight miniature actuators distributed around the wrist. The actuators are controlled to generate different haptic stimuli, each of which informs the user about a necessary needle steering manoeuvre. We describe the design of the wristband and its evaluation in two distinct user studies. In the first study, we evaluate how accurately users can identify the vibration patterns. In the second study, we focus on how the user responds to these patterns while performing needle insertion into tissue in an environment with high cognitive visual load. The reported average success rate in identifying the haptic pattern and the success rate in performing the correct action during needle insertion are 86% and 72%, respectively. These results suggest that the device could work in tandem with a needle steering algorithm to help surgeons achieve high quality implants and develop needle steering skills.