{"doi":"10.1115/dmd2025-1044","title":"Handheld Motorized Tendon Actuation System for Trus-Guided Active Needle Steering","abstract":"Abstract Prostate cancer is a concern for males in the U.S., with an estimated 299,010 new cases and 35,250 deaths in 2024. High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT) is one of the most effective treatment options, involving the implantation of temporary high-dose radiation to target cancer cells. However, the current standard of using rigid straight needles often leads to suboptimal placement, increasing the risk of side effects such as edema, incontinence, and impotence due to radiation exposure to organs at risk (OARs). This study introduces a handheld active needle system compatible with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) to improve placement precision and reduce complications. The active needle features a tendon-driven design with a flexible notched section for controlled bending, enabling curvatures tailored to individual patient anatomy. A handheld actuation system, equipped with Maxon motors and a joystick-controlled interface, facilitates precise needle steering. The system also includes an adjustable TRUS attachment for enhanced usability during procedures. Initial testing in an elastomer phantom demonstrated the system’s ability to visualize the needle’s placement using TRUS imaging. This handheld active needle system offers the potential to enhance prostate HDR BT by improving needle placement accuracy and reducing adverse outcomes. Future work will focus on performance validation to improve its application in prostate cancer treatment.","journal":null,"year":2025,"id":567471,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9563,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":935774,"name":"Bardia Konh","orcid":"0000-0001-9700-8751","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1471836,"name":"Joshua Kinder","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":12,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:56:44.340853Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}