A Motion Planning Approach to Automatic Obstacle Avoidance during Concentric Tube Robot Teleoperation.

Concentric tube robots are thin, tentacle-like devices that can move along curved paths and can potentially enable new, less invasive surgical procedures. Safe and effective operation of this type of robot requires that the robot's shaft avoid sensitive anatomical structures (e.g., critical vessels and organs) while the surgeon teleoperates the robot's tip. However, the robot's unintuitive kinematics makes it difficult for a human user to manually ensure obstacle avoidance along the entire tentacle-like shape of the robot's shaft. We present a motion planning approach for concentric tube robot teleoperation that enables the robot to interactively maneuver its tip to points selected by a user while automatically avoiding obstacles along its shaft. We achieve automatic collision avoidance by precomputing a roadmap of collision-free robot configurations based on a description of the anatomical obstacles, which are attainable via volumetric medical imaging. We also mitigate the effects of kinematic modeling error in reaching the goal positions by adjusting motions based on robot tip position sensing. We evaluate our motion planner on a teleoperated concentric tube robot and demonstrate its obstacle avoidance and accuracy in environments with tubular obstacles.

An experimental feasibility study on robotic endonasal telesurgery.

BACKGROUND: Novel robots have recently been developed specifically for endonasal surgery. They can deliver several thin, tentacle-like surgical instruments through a single nostril. Among the many potential advantages of such a robotic system is the prospect of telesurgery over long distances. OBJECTIVE: To describe a phantom pituitary tumor removal done by a surgeon in Nashville, Tennessee, controlling a robot located approximately 800 km away in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the first remote telesurgery experiment involving tentacle-like concentric tube manipulators. METHODS: A phantom pituitary tumor removal experiment was conducted twice, once locally and once remotely, with the robotic system. Robot commands and video were transmitted across the Internet. The latency of the system was evaluated quantitatively in both local and remote cases to determine the effect of the 800-km distance between the surgeon and robot. RESULTS: We measured a control and video latency of < 100 milliseconds in the remote case. Qualitatively, the surgeon was able to carry out the experiment easily and observed no discernable difference between the remote and local cases. CONCLUSION: Telesurgery over long distances is feasible with this robotic system. In the longer term, this may enable expert skull base surgeons to help many more patients by performing surgeries remotely over long distances.

Motion Planning for a Three-Stage Multilumen Transoral Lung Access System.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death, and early-stage diagnosis is critical to survival. Biopsy is typically required for a definitive diagnosis, but current low-risk clinical options for lung biopsy cannot access all biopsy sites. We introduce a motion planner for a multilumen transoral lung access system, a new system that has the potential to perform safe biopsies anywhere in the lung, which could enable more effective early-stage diagnosis of lung cancer. The system consists of three stages in which a bronchoscope is deployed transorally to the lung, a concentric tube robot pierces through the bronchial tubes into the lung parenchyma, and a steerable needle deploys through a properly oriented concentric tube and steers through the lung parenchyma to the target site while avoiding anatomical obstacles such as significant blood vessels. A sampling-based motion planner computes actions for each stage of the system and considers the coupling of the stages in an efficient manner. We demonstrate the motion planner's fast performance and ability to compute plans with high clearance from obstacles in simulated anatomical scenarios.

Optimizing Design Parameters for Sets of Concentric Tube Robots using Sampling-based Motion Planning.

Concentric tube robots are tentacle-like medical robots that can bend around anatomical obstacles to access hard-to-reach clinical targets. The component tubes of these robots can be swapped prior to performing a task in order to customize the robot's behavior and reachable workspace. Optimizing a robot's design by appropriately selecting tube parameters can improve the robot's effectiveness on a procedure-and patient-specific basis. In this paper, we present an algorithm that generates sets of concentric tube robot designs that can collectively maximize the reachable percentage of a given goal region in the human body. Our algorithm combines a search in the design space of a concentric tube robot using a global optimization method with a sampling-based motion planner in the robot's configuration space in order to find sets of designs that enable motions to goal regions while avoiding contact with anatomical obstacles. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm in a simulated scenario based on lung anatomy.

Interactive-rate Motion Planning for Concentric Tube Robots.

Concentric tube robots may enable new, safer minimally invasive surgical procedures by moving along curved paths to reach difficult-to-reach sites in a patient's anatomy. Operating these devices is challenging due to their complex, unintuitive kinematics and the need to avoid sensitive structures in the anatomy. In this paper, we present a motion planning method that computes collision-free motion plans for concentric tube robots at interactive rates. Our method's high speed enables a user to continuously and freely move the robot's tip while the motion planner ensures that the robot's shaft does not collide with any anatomical obstacles. Our approach uses a highly accurate mechanical model of tube interactions, which is important since small movements of the tip position may require large changes in the shape of the device's shaft. Our motion planner achieves its high speed and accuracy by combining offline precomputation of a collision-free roadmap with online position control. We demonstrate our interactive planner in a simulated neurosurgical scenario where a user guides the robot's tip through the environment while the robot automatically avoids collisions with the anatomical obstacles.

Scaling-up parameters for site restoration process using surfactant-enhanced soil washing coupled with wastewater treatment by Fenton and Fenton-like processes.

Estimation of scaling-up parameters for a site restoration process using a surfactant-enhanced soil washing (SESW) process followed by the application of advanced oxidation processes (Fenton and photo-Fenton) was performed. For the SESW, different parameters were varied and the soil washing efficiency for pesticide (2,4-D) removal assessed. The resulting wastewater was treated using the Fenton reaction in the absence and presence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation for pesticide removal. Results showed that agitation speed of 1550 rpm was preferable for the best pesticide removal from contaminated soil. It was possible to wash contaminated soils with different soil concentrations; however the power drawn was higher as the soil concentration increased. Complete removal of the pesticide and the remaining surfactant was achieved using different reaction conditions. The best degradation conditions were for the photo-Fenton process using [Fe(II)] = 0.3 mM; [H2O2] = 4.0 mM where complete 2,4-D and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) removal was observed after 8 and 10 minutes of reaction, respectively. Further increase in the hydrogen peroxide or iron salt concentration did not show any improvement in the reaction rate. Kinetic parameters, i.e. reaction rate constant and scaling-up parameters, were determined. It was shown that, by coupling both processes (SESW and AOPs), it is possible the restoration of contaminated sites.

Physics-based deformable tongue visualization.

In this paper, a physics-based framework is presented to visualize the human tongue deformation. The tongue is modeled with the Finite Element Method (FEM) and driven by the motion capture data gathered during speech production. Several novel deformation visualization techniques are presented for in-depth data analysis and exploration. To reveal the hidden semantic information of the tongue deformation, we present a novel physics-based volume segmentation algorithm. This is accomplished by decomposing the tongue model into segments based on its deformation pattern with the computation of deformation subspaces and fitting the target deformation locally at each segment. In addition, the strain energy is utilized to provide an intuitive low-dimensional visualization for the high-dimensional sequential motion. Energy-interpolation-based morphing is also equipped to effectively highlight the subtle differences of the 3D deformed shapes without any visual occlusion. Our experimental results and analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of this framework. The proposed methods, though originally designed for the exploration of the tongue deformation, are also valid for general deformation analysis of other shapes.

Continuous Shape Estimation of Continuum Robots Using X-ray Images.

We present a new method for continuously and accurately estimating the shape of a continuum robot during a medical procedure using a small number of X-ray projection images (e.g., radiographs or fluoroscopy images). Continuum robots have curvilinear structure, enabling them to maneuver through constrained spaces by bending around obstacles. Accurately estimating the robot's shape continuously over time is crucial for the success of procedures that require avoidance of anatomical obstacles and sensitive tissues. Online shape estimation of a continuum robot is complicated by uncertainty in its kinematic model, movement of the robot during the procedure, noise in X-ray images, and the clinical need to minimize the number of X-ray images acquired. Our new method integrates kinematics models of the robot with data extracted from an optimally selected set of X-ray projection images. Our method represents the shape of the continuum robot over time as a deformable surface which can be described as a linear combination of time and space basis functions. We take advantage of probabilistic priors and numeric optimization to select optimal camera configurations, thus minimizing the expected shape estimation error. We evaluate our method using simulated concentric tube robot procedures and demonstrate that obtaining between 3 and 10 images from viewpoints selected by our method enables online shape estimation with errors significantly lower than using the kinematic model alone or using randomly spaced viewpoints.

Motion Planning for Concentric Tube Robots Using Mechanics-based Models.

Concentric tube robots have the potential to enable new minimally invasive surgical procedures by curving around anatomical obstacles to reach difficult-to-reach sites in body cavities. Planning motions for these devices is challenging in part due to their complex kinematics; concentric tube robots are composed of thin, pre-curved, telescoping tubes that can achieve a variety of shapes via extension and rotation of each of their constituent tubes. We introduce a new motion planner to maneuver these devices to clinical targets while minimizing the probability of colliding with anatomical obstacles. Unlike prior planners for these devices, we more accurately model device shape using mechanics-based models that consider torsional interaction between the tubes. We also account for the effects of uncertainty in actuation and predicted device shape. We integrate these models with a sampling-based approach based on the Rapidly-Exploring Roadmap to guarantee finding optimal plans as computation time is allowed to increase. We demonstrate our motion planner in simulation using a variety of evaluation scenarios including an anatomy-based neurosurgery case that requires maneuvering to a difficult-to-reach brain tumor at the skull base.

Disinfection of a wastewater flow treated by advanced primary treatment using O3, UV and O3/UV combinations.

This study was conducted to evaluate the ozone, UV and O3/UV processes for the reuse of sewage treatment plant effluent (Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Azcapotzalco wastewater treatment plant). The ozone/UV process was compared to individual ozone and the UV processes and control parameters were total and fecal coliforms. Different ozone concentrations (6-12 mg O3/min) and different UV fluencies (6.7-20.12 mJ/cm²) were tested. It is possible to conclude than none of the processes achieved the disinfection levels required to comply with the Mexican standard NOM-003-SEMARNAT-1997. The continuous ozone process offered the lower total and fecal coliforms reductions, while UV light resulted a disinfection agent with higher germicide power than ozone. The maximum logarithmic reduction achieved due to the combined ozone/UV process was of 2.04 for fecal coliforms and of 2.17 for total coliforms. The next 8 combinations showed lower removal efficiencies, but always higher than those obtained with the single ozone or UV processes. The ozone/UV process was highly effective for the disinfection and a synergistic effect was observed.

Wastewater disinfection and organic matter removal using ferrate (VI) oxidation.

The use of iron in a +6 valence state, (Fe (VI), as FeO4(-2)) was tested as a novel alternative for wastewater disinfection and decontamination. The removal of organic matter (OM) and index microorganisms present in an effluent of a wastewater plant was determined using FeO4(-2) without any pH adjustment. It was observed that concentrations of FeO4(-2) ranging between 5 and 14 mg l(-1) inactivated up to 4-log of the index microorganisms (initial concentration c.a. 10(6) CFU/100 ml) and achieved OM removal up to almost 50%. The performance of FeO4(-2) was compared with OM oxidation and disinfection using hypochlorite. It was observed that hypochlorite was less effective in OM oxidation and coliform inactivation than ferrate. Results of this work suggest that FeO4(-2) could be an interesting oxidant able to deactivate pathogenic microorganisms in water with high OM content and readily oxidize organic matter without jeopardizing its efficiency on microorganism inactivation.

Coagulation-flocculation process applied to wastewaters generated in hydrocarbon-contaminated soil washing: Interactions among coagulant and flocculant concentrations and pH value.

Wastewater produced in the contaminated soil washing was treated by means of coagulation-flocculation (CF) process. The wastewater contained petroleum hydrocarbons, a surfactant, i.e., sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as well as salts, brownish organic matter and other constituents that were lixiviated from the soil during the washing process. The main goal of this work was to develop a process for treating the wastewaters generated when washing hydrocarbon-contaminated soils in such a way that it could be recycled to the washing process, and also be disposed at the end of the process properly. A second objective was to study the relationship among the coagulant and flocculant doses and the pH at which the CF process is developed, for systems where methylene blue active substances (MBAS) as well as oil and greases were present. The results for the selection of the right coagulant and flocculant type and dose, the optimum pH value for the CF process and the interactions among the three parameters are detailed along this work. The best coagulant and flocculant were FeCl(3) and Tecnifloc 998 at doses of 4,000 and 1 mg/L, correspondingly at pH of 5. These conditions gave color, turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and conductivity removals of 99.8, 99.6, 97.1 and 35%, respectively. It was concluded that it is feasible to treat the wastewaters generated in the contaminated soil washing process through CF process, and therefore, wastewaters could be recycled to the washing process or disposed to drainage.

Decontamination of soil washing wastewater using solar driven advanced oxidation processes.

Decontamination of soil washing wastewater was performed using two different solar driven advanced oxidation processes (AOPs): the photo-Fenton reaction and the cobalt/peroxymonosulfate/ultraviolet (Co/PMS/UV) process. Complete sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), the surfactant agent used to enhance soil washing process, degradation was achieved when the Co/PMS/UV process was used. In the case of photo-Fenton reaction, almost complete SDS degradation was achieved after the use of almost four times the actual energy amount required by the Co/PMS/UV process. Initial reaction rate in the first 15min (IR15) was determined for each process in order to compare them. Highest IR15 value was determined for the Co/PMS/UV process (0.011mmol/min) followed by the photo-Fenton reaction (0.0072mmol/min) and the dark Co/PMS and Fenton processes (IR15=0.002mmol/min in both cases). Organic matter depletion in the wastewater, as the sum of surfactant and total petroleum hydrocarbons present (measured as chemical oxygen demand, COD), was also determined for both solar driven processes. It was found that, for the case of COD, the highest removal (69%) was achieved when photo-Fenton reaction was used whereas Co/PMS/UV process yielded a slightly lower removal (51%). In both cases, organic matter removal achieved was over 50%, which can be consider proper for the coupling of the tested AOPs with conventional wastewater treatment processes such as biodegradation.

Sub-soil contamination due to oil spills in six oil-pipeline pumping stations in northern Mexico.

Mexico has a very important oil industry, comprehending the exploration, production, transformation, storage and distribution of crude oil and its fractions. Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) is a state-owned monopoly in charge of these activities. Oil and oil-products transport is an extremely crucial operation for the cycle production-transformation-distribution. Pipeline system transport crude oil and sub-products along the country (including liquids, gases and mixtures). It has been reported that more than 30% of the oil ducts in Mexico have been operating for over 30 years, although their lifetime has been calculated in 25-30 years. This work is aimed at characterizing a zone around six oil-pipeline pumping stations located at northern Mexico. The specific places to evaluate soil contamination were (1) the distribution head of the Gomez Palacio (GOPA) pumping station; (2) the north side of the old ditch, the API oil separator and the wastewater zones of the Jimenez (JIM) pumping station; (3) the pumping stations of Ceballos (CE), Peronal (PER), Simon Bolivar (SIBO), and Mayran (MAY). The study comprehended sampling of the areas, delimitation of contamination in the vertical and horizontal extension, analysis of the sampled soils, regarding TPH and, in some cases, the 16 PAHs considered as a priority by USEPA, calculation of areas and volumes contaminated (according to the Mexican legislation, specifically NOM-EM-138-ECOL-2002) and, finally, a proposal for the best remediation techniques suitable for the encountered contamination levels and the localization of contaminants. In general, TPHs were found in all the pumping stations analyzed in this study. Regarding maximal TPHs concentrations at the stations, their order of contamination was as follows: SIBO>CE>PER>MAY>JIM>GOPA. PAHs were found only in a few points at concentrations above the detection limit. At the Jimenez, Gomez Palacio, Peronal, and Ceballos stations, only one point, with PAHs values over the detection limit was found, whereas two points were found at Mayran, and finally at the Simon Bolivar station there were four points with measurable amounts of PAHs. Given the areas and volumes that need to be treated (32835 m3), as well as the physical position of contaminants, it is considered that excavation of the contaminated soil is feasible and the cleaning process could be soil washing assisted with surfactants, though bioremediation should not been discharged as a possible remediation technique.

Sub-soil contamination due to oil spills in zones surrounding oil pipeline-pump stations and oil pipeline right-of-ways in Southwest-Mexico.

Oil spills due to oil pipelines is a very frequent problem in Mexico. Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), very concerned with the environmental agenda, has been developing inspection and correction plans for zones around oil pipelines pumping stations and pipeline right-of-way. These stations are located at regular intervals of kilometres along the pipelines. In this study, two sections of an oil pipeline and two pipeline pumping stations zones are characterized in terms of the presence of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). The study comprehends sampling of the areas, delimitation of contamination in the vertical and horizontal extension, analysis of the sampled soils regarding TPHs content and, in some cases, the 16 PAHs considered as priority by USEPA, calculation of areas and volumes contaminated (according to Mexican legislation, specifically NOM-EM-138-ECOL-2002) and, finally, a proposal for the best remediation techniques suitable for the contamination levels and the localization of contaminants.

Removal of aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, and heptachlor epoxide using activated carbon and/or Pseudomonas fluorescens free cell cultures.

Degradation of aldrin (1,2,3,4,10,10-Hexachloro-1,4,4a,5,8,8a-hexahydro-1,4:5-8-dimethanonaphthalene), heptachlor (1H-1,4,5,6,7,8,8-heptachloro-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-methano indene), dieldrin (1aalpha,2beta,2aalpha,3beta,6beta,6aalpha,7beta,7aalpha)-3,4,5,6,9,9-Hexachloro-1a,2,2a,3,6,6a,7,7a-octahydro-2,7:3,6-d-methanonaphtha[2,3-b]oxirene, and heptachlor epoxide (1aalpha, 1bbeta,2alpha,5alpha,5alphabeta,6beta,6aalpha-2,3,4,5,6,7,7-Heptachloro-1a,1b,5,5a,6,6a-hexahydro-2,5-methano-2H-inden[1,2-b]-oxirene) was tested using free cultures of Pseudomonas fluorescens under controlled conditions. Pesticide concentrations were monitored by gas chromatography during 120 h. Percentages of degradation and biodegradation rates (BDR) were calculated. Data showed a trend suggesting a relation between chemical structure and degradability. Degradation kinetics for each pesticide tested showed that the highest degradation rates were found in the first 24 h. Kinetics data were adjusted to an empirical equation in order to predict their behavior, and the correlation coefficients obtained were satisfactory. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of the final extracts allowed the identification of chlordene and monodechlorodieldrin, which have been reported as final metabolite produced in the biodegradation of this kind of compounds. Regarding adsorption of pesticides on activated vegetal carbon, we concluded that removal efficiencies between 95.45 and 97.18% can be reached, depending on the pesticide and the carbon dose applied. The values for K from the Freundlich equation were quite similar for the four pesticides (between 1.0001 and 1.04), whereas the n values were quite different for each pesticide in the following order of affinity: dieldrin > aldrin > heptachlor epoxide > heptachlor. Equilibrium times, very important for scaling up the process, were between 43 min and 1 h, for the heptachlor epoxide and the heptachlor, respectively.

Chlorinated pesticides (2,4-D and DDT) biodegradation at high concentrations using immobilized Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Degradation of two chlorinated pesticides (2,4-D and DDT) using a 54-mL glass column packed with tezontle (a low-cost basaltic scoria) was tested. Bacteria were cultured in YPG (yeast, peptone, and glucose) liquid medium at 32 degrees C. The rich medium was pumped during 24 h through the column to inoculate it. Later, the wasted medium was discharged and the pesticide added. Optical densities, TOC, and pesticide concentration were determined. Pesticide removals for 2,4-D (with initial concentration between 100 and 500 mg/L) were about 99%. DDT removal (at initial concentration of up to 150 mg/L) was as high as 55-99%. TOC removals for 2,4-D was in the 36-87% interval, whereas for DDT they were as high as 36-78%.

Subsoil TPH and other petroleum fractions-contamination levels in an oil storage and distribution station in north-central Mexico.

Many oil industry related sites have become contaminated due to the activities characteristic of this industry, such as oil exploration and production, refining, and petro-chemistry. In Mexico, reported hydrocarbon spills for the year 2000 amounted to 185203, equivalent to 6252 tons (PEMEX, 2000). The first step for the remediation of these polluted sites is to assess the size and intensity of the oil contamination affecting the subsoil and groundwater, followed by a health risk assessment to establish clean up levels. The aim of this work was to characterize the soil and water in a north-central Mexico Oil Storage and Distribution Station (ODSS), in terms of TPHs, gasoline and diesel fractions, BTEX, PAHs, MTBE, and some metals. Besides, measurements of the explosivity index along the ODSS were made and we describe and discuss the risk health assessment analysis performed at the ODSS, as well as the recommendations arising from it. Considering soils with TPH concentrations higher than 2000 mg kg(-1), the contaminated areas corresponding to the railway zone is about 12776.5 m2, to the south of the storage tanks is about 6558 m2, and to the south of the filling tanks is about 783 m2. Total area to be treated is about 20107 m2 (volume of 20107 m3), considering 1m depth.

Washing of soil contaminated with PAHs and heavy petroleum fractions using two nonionic [correction] and one ionic surfactant: effect of salt addition.

The aim of this work was to select the surfactant for washing an aged soil contaminated with PAHs and heavy hydrocarbons fraction, between two anionic and one ionic surfactant. The effect of the addition of salt when washing with the ionic surfactant was evaluated. Results of this work indicated the following. Soil contaminants concentration as g TPH kg soil(-1) was 17,200 mg kg(-1). All washing performances were dependent on the type of surfactant and applied doses. In general, best removal efficiencies were obtained with TW80 (59.57%), followed very near by E600 (57.67%), and at the en by SDS (39.0%), in comparison to the blank assessment (only water), where removal efficiency was about 12%. These removal efficiencies were correlated to the MW, CMC, and HLB values of every surfactant. SDS efficiencies were quite enhanced by the addition of 1% (60.36% removal efficiency) and 2% (70.28% removal efficiency) of NaCl. Its seems that there exist two reasons for this phenomena i.e., the diminution in the real value of SDS CMC (as reported by many authors) and, the capabilities of NaCl solutions to dissolve higher amounts of hydrocarbons than only tap water.

TPH-contaminated Mexican refinery soil: health risk assessment and the first year of changes.

The soil of a coastal Mexican refinery is quite contaminated, especially by hydrocarbons, with detected concentrations up to 130000 mg kg(-1) as TPHs (total petroleum hydrocarbons). The main sources of contamination are pipelines, valves, and old storage tanks, besides the land disposal of untreated hydrocarbon sediments derived from the cleaning of storage tanks. A health risk assessment (HRA) was carried out in order to measure the risk hazard indexes and clean-up standards for the refinery soil. HRA suggested the following actions to be taken: benzene concentrations must be reduced in eight of the 16 studied refinery zones to 0.0074-0.0078 mg kg(-1). Also, vanadium concentration must be reduced in two zones up to a concentration of 100 mg kg(-1). In only one of all of the studied zones, benzo(a)pyrene concentration must be reduced to 0.1 mg kg(-1). After 1 yr, TPHs showed a diminution of about 52%. Even though TPHs concentrations were variable, during 1999 the average concentrations were as much as 15.5 times the goal concentration. For year 2000, TPHs concentrations were only 7.4-fold the proposed value. For the 1999-2000 period, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) concentrations decreased by 82%. Some PAHs with 2, 3, 4, and 5 aromatic rings were removed up to 100% values.