needle placement system.

Liver cancer is one of the most common and lethal cancers in the world. To diagnose this form of cancer, a physician takes a biopsy by accurately inserting a needle in the tumor. To destroy the tumor, the physician inserts one or more ablation needles. For deep and difficult to reach tumor lesions, this procedure is performed under CT guidance. Even for skilled specialists, it is hard to reach the right spot manually based on the CT image. Sometimes several attempts are necessary to place the needle successfully. To overcome this, a needle placement robot helps the medical specialist find exactly the right angle to place the needle the first time right – to the relief of both patient and specialist.