A review of the research progress of interventional medical equipment and methods for prostate cancer

Abstract

Background: Prostate cancer is a common disease in men and has a relatively high mortality rate. However, the interventional medical equipment used for prostate biopsy and brachytherapy has always been a social concern.Methods: To understand interventional medical equipment for prostate cancer, the structure of manual, semi-automatic and automatic medical equipment were considered as the mainline, while the corresponding research on these structures were the auxiliary lines. The characteristics and corresponding research status have been discussed.Results: Interventional medical equipment for prostate cancer with different degrees of automation and its characteristics were determined, and the imaging principles and characteristics of computed tomography, transrectal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging have been briefly described. Conclusion:Certain feasible research suggestions have been proposed for future development from the perspective of structure, accuracy and safety. These include flexible and compact robot structures, high-precision image recognition and guidance, accurate dose planning and monitoring, real-time imaging monitoring without delay, high-precision needle insertion strategy, master-slave control, virtual reality and remote control.

Clinical Efficacy and Openness to New Challenges of Low Dose Rate Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer

“…A research group from China is examining the future directions of brachytherapy regarding prostate needling [63]. This group has invented a mechanical frame to perform brachytherapy needling automatically.…”

Thermally Drawn-Based Microtubule Soft Continuum Robot for Cardiovascular Intervention

“…Unfortunately, cardiovascular disease is increasingly becoming a leading cause of death in humans. However, the development and deployment of interventional medical devices have helped save countless lives. − Interventional robots offer a new approach for in situ diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (Figure A). − These robots have the ability to enter and navigate areas of the body that are difficult to reach with current medical devices, which holds great potential for future healthcare applications. Among the various forms of microrobots, wirelessly controlled soft continuum robots are particularly promising for clinical medical diagnosis and treatment.…”

Structural design and analysis of pneumatic prostate seed implantation robot applied in magnetic resonance imaging environment

“…9,10 With the rapid development of the robotics industry in recent years, more and more robotic technologies have been applied to clinical operations and are gradually accepted by patients and doctors. 11 The combination of robotic technology and radiotherapy technology can overcome the shortcomings of traditional radiotherapy used by doctors; if doctors directly operate large-scale surgical instruments, long-term surgery is likely to cause fatigue, quality degradation, and can not give full play to the doctor's surgical level, and Surgical operations are complex, and young doctors need to go through long-term study and professional training. 12 So, minimally invasive interventional surgery robot technology, as the most promising key technology in the field of medical robots in the future (represented by the DaVinci robot developed by American Intuitive Corporation), not only has high positioning accuracy, good motion stability, but also can replace Physicians work continuously while causing less trauma to patients and facilitating postoperative recovery.…”

“…With the rapid development of the robotics industry in recent years, more and more robotic technologies have been applied to clinical operations and are gradually accepted by patients and doctors 11 . The combination of robotic technology and radiotherapy technology can overcome the shortcomings of traditional radiotherapy used by doctors; if doctors directly operate large‐scale surgical instruments, long‐term surgery is likely to cause fatigue, quality degradation, and can not give full play to the doctor's surgical level, and Surgical operations are complex, and young doctors need to go through long‐term study and professional training 12 .…”