CT-Enabled Patient-Specific Simulation and Contact-Aware Robotic Planning for Cochlear Implantation

2026-03-05

AI Summary

This work addresses trauma, electrode locking, and buckling caused by uncontrolled contact forces during robotic cochlear implantation by proposing a patient-specific insertion planning framework. The approach integrates CT-based cochlear reconstruction with an analytical parameterization of the cochlear duct to construct a differentiable, low-dimensional Cosserat rod model of electrode dynamics. By incorporating frictional contact mechanics and pseudodynamic regularization under remote center of motion (RCM) constraints, the method enables efficient contact queries and online directional updates for real-time control. Simulation and benchtop experiments demonstrate that the proposed framework significantly reduces lateral forces and buckling risk while enhancing insertion depth and procedural safety, offering a high-precision, robust solution for robot-assisted cochlear surgery.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: State Estimation
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan Repair
• Natural Language Processing: Safety and Robustness

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

Robotic cochlear-implant (CI) insertion requires precise prediction and regulation of contact forces to minimize intracochlear trauma and prevent failure modes such as locking and buckling. Aligned with the integration of advanced medical imaging and robotics for autonomous, precision interventions, this paper presents a unified CT-to-simulation pipeline for contact-aware insertion planning and validation. We develop a low-dimensional, differentiable Cosserat-rod model of the electrode array coupled with frictional contact and pseudo-dynamics regularization to ensure continuous stick-slip transitions. Patient-specific cochlear anatomy is reconstructed from CT imaging and encoded via an analytic parametrization of the scala-tympani lumen, enabling efficient and differentiable contact queries through closest-point projection. Based on a differentiated equilibrium-constraint formulation, we derive an online direction-update law under an RCM-like constraint that suppresses lateral insertion forces while maintaining axial advancement. Simulations and benchtop experiments validate deformation and force trends, demonstrating reduced locking/buckling risk and improved insertion depth. The study highlights how CT-based imaging enhances modeling, planning, and safety capabilities in robot-assisted inner-ear procedures.

Problem

• cochlear implantation
• contact force
• intracochlear trauma
• electrode insertion
• robotic surgery

Innovation

• differentiable simulation
• Cosserat rod model
• patient-specific planning
• contact-aware robotics
• CT-based cochlear modeling