The MURAB project aims at improving the precision of diagnostic biopsies and the effectiveness of the
workflow, by using Ultrasound (US) images coupled to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with a novel
registration method that would reduce the use of MRI to a minimum. A robotically steered US
transducer with force sensing will be used to acquire volumetric
and elastographic data of the tissue. Once the Lesion is identified in the MRI image, the
radiologist can select the target on the MR image and the robot will steer the instrument to the
exact desired location by adapting the insertion angle on the basis of real time US measurements.
Tissue deformations will be predicted based on the acquired elastographic measurements. Two
applications will be targeted and validated in the project: breast cancer diagnostics and muscle
disease diagnostics.
