Velocity Optimization via Thermal Imaging Enhances Autonomous Tumor Resection

Abstract:Objective: To demonstrate and evaluate THERMO, a thermal-velocity optimization algorithm for autonomous electrosurgery, in ex vivo porcine tissue using the UR10e-based ASTR system. Methods: Thermography for Electrosurgical Rate Modulation via Optimization (ThERMO), a closed-loop algorithm that uses real-time thermal imaging data to minimize thermal injury while ensuring accurate cut margins, was tested on ex vivo porcine tissue. Histological analysis was performed to detect thermal injury extent at a cellular level, and 3D photogrammetric measurement was used to verify margin accuracy. ThERMO's performance was compared against two previously used fixed velocity methods. Results: ThERMO outperformed both fixed velocity comparison methods without requiring data-driven training or iterative tuning, reducing thermal injury by up to 52%, improving cut accuracy by up to 59%, and maintaining task completion speed. Conclusions: Closed-loop thermal feedback via ThERMO improves autonomous robotic electrosurgery by simultaneously reducing thermal injury and improving margin accuracy, reinforcing its value over fixed velocity approaches for tumor resection applications. Significance: This work advances autonomous robotic tumor resection by demonstrating that real-time closed-loop thermal feedback control can substantially reduce collateral tissue damage and improve surgical margin accuracy.

Robotics (cs.RO)

arXiv:2610.27562 [cs.RO]

(or arXiv:2610.27562v1 [cs.RO] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.27562 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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