Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Precision robotics have shown great promise for use in both biomedical and manufacturing contexts, particularly with regards to precision surgical techniques for neurosurgery, and in ablation systems for template-free micromachining; however, significant hurdles still exist in both the macro and micro-guidance and feedback control. The use of optical systems, including Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Optical Topographical Imaging (OTI), represent a unique opportunity to allow for direct and continuous feedback to robotic systems at levels of precision not previously possible. OCT has the potential to be combined with laser systems either through inline integration for fiber lasers or at system output in the optical payload, thus allowing for direct monitoring and enabling possible feedback control of the ablation process. OCT can also be used for surface and subsurface characterization and targeting - particularly useful for custom ablation or directed targeting. OTI can allow for rapid and efficient large volume imaging, and when combined with infrared-based tracking, can enable real-time machine-vision image guidance. Finally, recent developments in large-volume OCT could allow for fusion of OTI and OCT data, providing further opportunities to expand functionality. Objectives include: 1) Developing OCT-controlled laser ablation systems for ablation-front monitoring and control through direct-feedback; 2) refinement and generalization of trajectory-generation methods using OTI for guidance; 3) creation of protocols for marco-guidance via generated trajectories using a 7-DOF robotic arm system; 4) refinement of direct feedback-control for micro-guidance of robotic systems via OCT for maintaining focal distance; 5) development of optimized methods for image fusion for targeted ablation; and 6) refinement of SV-OCT methods for detection of microfluidic channels and directed ablation. Specific aims include: a) Development of integrated optical systems (OCT-ablation laser) with direct links for feedback control (i.e laser stoppage); b) development of OCT-robotic feedback and control systems for fine robotic control; c) continued development of robust, generalized methods for OTI trajectory generation with robotic constraints and considerations; and d) continued development of OCT flow-detection methods. In this, the long-term goal of the project is the development of an overall combined system for micro- and macro-controlled robotic laser ablation that is both robust and generalizable. In this, we meet initial aims set-out in previous grants (i.e developed towards neurosurgical focus), but move towards more general applied engineering methods with wide applications to industrial processes, both within biomedical engineering such as with targeted ablation for refinement of tissue scaffolding with microfluidic channels for tissue engineering, and further outside of this field in laser machining and template-free manufacturing methods.