3-D ultrasound-guided robotic needle steering in biological tissue.

Robotic needle steering systems have the potential to greatly improve medical interventions, but they require new methods for medical image guidance. Three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound is a widely available, low-cost imaging modality that may be used to provide real-time feedback to needle steering robots. Unfortunately, the poor visibility of steerable needles in standard grayscale ultrasound makes automatic segmentation of the needles impractical.