Control of master-slave actuation systems for MRI/FMRI compatible haptic interfaces

Abstract

Robots compatible with Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanners and guided by real-time 3D imaging can revolutionize surgery, enabling more reliable and precise minimally invasive interventions with minimal recovery time. A robotic haptic interface in conjunction with functional Magnetic Resonance Imager (fMRI) has great potential in Neuroscience studies. However one major problem to create MR compatible robots is the electromagnetic compatibility of the actuation system. Master-slave systems with hydrostatic and cable transmissions are found to be the most suitable as MR compatible actuators. A MR compatible haptic device using a hydrostatic transmission was developed and is being used for Neuroscience experiments at ATR, Japan. This thesis analyzes the dynamics and presents control strategies developed for such haptic devices. It proposes a real-time code structure that was used to control the system. Finally it presents the design of a test-bed and results of preliminary experiments that were conducted to analyze a cable transmission and compare it with a hydrostatic transmission.