Design of a Cost-Effective Ultrasound Force Sensor and Force Control System for Robotic Extra-Body Ultrasound Imaging

Yixuan Zheng; Hongyuan Ning; Eason Rangarajan; Aban Merali; Adam Geale; Lukas Lindenroth; Zhouyang Xu; Weizhao Wang; Philipp Kruse; Steven Morris; Liang Ye; Xinyi Fu; Kawal Rhode; Richard James Housden

doi:10.3390/s25020468

Design of a Cost-Effective Ultrasound Force Sensor and Force Control System for Robotic Extra-Body Ultrasound Imaging

Yixuan Zheng, Hongyuan Ning, Eason Rangarajan, Aban Merali, Adam Geale, Lukas Lindenroth, Zhouyang Xu, Weizhao Wang, Philipp Kruse, Steven Morris, Liang Ye, Xinyi Fu, Kawal Rhode, Richard James Housden

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Abstract

Ultrasound imaging is widely valued for its safety, non-invasiveness, and real-time capabilities but is often limited by operator variability, affecting image quality and reproducibility. Robot-assisted ultrasound may provide a solution by delivering more consistent, precise, and faster scans, potentially reducing human error and healthcare costs. Effective force control is crucial in robotic ultrasound scanning to ensure consistent image quality and patient safety. However, existing robotic ultrasound systems rely heavily on expensive commercial force sensors or the integrated sensors of commercial robotic arms, limiting their accessibility. To address these challenges, we developed a cost-effective, lightweight, 3D-printed force sensor and a hybrid position-force control strategy tailored for robotic ultrasound scanning. The system integrates patient-to-robot registration, automated scanning path planning, and multi-sensor data fusion, allowing the robot to autonomously locate the patient, target the region of interest, and maintain optimal contact force during scanning. Validation was conducted using an ultrasound-compatible abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) phantom created from patient CT data and healthy volunteer testing. For the volunteer testing, during a 1-min scan, 65% of the forces were within the good image range. Both volunteers reported no discomfort or pain during the whole procedure. These results demonstrate the potential of the system to provide safe, precise, and autonomous robotic ultrasound imaging in real-world conditions.

Original language	English
Article number	468
Journal	Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
Volume	25
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/s25020468
Publication status	Published - 15 Jan 2025

Keywords

Humans
Ultrasonography/methods
Robotics/instrumentation
Phantoms, Imaging
Equipment Design
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/diagnostic imaging

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10.3390/s25020468

s41205-024-00248-5Final published version, 1.4 MBLicence: CC BY

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Zheng, Y., Ning, H., Rangarajan, E., Merali, A., Geale, A., Lindenroth, L., Xu, Z., Wang, W., Kruse, P., Morris, S., Ye, L., Fu, X., Rhode, K., & Housden, R. J. (2025). Design of a Cost-Effective Ultrasound Force Sensor and Force Control System for Robotic Extra-Body Ultrasound Imaging. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 25(2), Article 468. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25020468

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abstract = "Ultrasound imaging is widely valued for its safety, non-invasiveness, and real-time capabilities but is often limited by operator variability, affecting image quality and reproducibility. Robot-assisted ultrasound may provide a solution by delivering more consistent, precise, and faster scans, potentially reducing human error and healthcare costs. Effective force control is crucial in robotic ultrasound scanning to ensure consistent image quality and patient safety. However, existing robotic ultrasound systems rely heavily on expensive commercial force sensors or the integrated sensors of commercial robotic arms, limiting their accessibility. To address these challenges, we developed a cost-effective, lightweight, 3D-printed force sensor and a hybrid position-force control strategy tailored for robotic ultrasound scanning. The system integrates patient-to-robot registration, automated scanning path planning, and multi-sensor data fusion, allowing the robot to autonomously locate the patient, target the region of interest, and maintain optimal contact force during scanning. Validation was conducted using an ultrasound-compatible abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) phantom created from patient CT data and healthy volunteer testing. For the volunteer testing, during a 1-min scan, 65% of the forces were within the good image range. Both volunteers reported no discomfort or pain during the whole procedure. These results demonstrate the potential of the system to provide safe, precise, and autonomous robotic ultrasound imaging in real-world conditions.",

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AU - Ning, Hongyuan

AU - Rangarajan, Eason

AU - Merali, Aban

AU - Geale, Adam

AU - Lindenroth, Lukas

AU - Xu, Zhouyang

AU - Wang, Weizhao

AU - Kruse, Philipp

AU - Morris, Steven

AU - Ye, Liang

AU - Fu, Xinyi

AU - Rhode, Kawal

AU - Housden, Richard James

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AB - Ultrasound imaging is widely valued for its safety, non-invasiveness, and real-time capabilities but is often limited by operator variability, affecting image quality and reproducibility. Robot-assisted ultrasound may provide a solution by delivering more consistent, precise, and faster scans, potentially reducing human error and healthcare costs. Effective force control is crucial in robotic ultrasound scanning to ensure consistent image quality and patient safety. However, existing robotic ultrasound systems rely heavily on expensive commercial force sensors or the integrated sensors of commercial robotic arms, limiting their accessibility. To address these challenges, we developed a cost-effective, lightweight, 3D-printed force sensor and a hybrid position-force control strategy tailored for robotic ultrasound scanning. The system integrates patient-to-robot registration, automated scanning path planning, and multi-sensor data fusion, allowing the robot to autonomously locate the patient, target the region of interest, and maintain optimal contact force during scanning. Validation was conducted using an ultrasound-compatible abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) phantom created from patient CT data and healthy volunteer testing. For the volunteer testing, during a 1-min scan, 65% of the forces were within the good image range. Both volunteers reported no discomfort or pain during the whole procedure. These results demonstrate the potential of the system to provide safe, precise, and autonomous robotic ultrasound imaging in real-world conditions.

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KW - Robotics/instrumentation

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ER -

Design of a Cost-Effective Ultrasound Force Sensor and Force Control System for Robotic Extra-Body Ultrasound Imaging

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