Flexible needle insertion is performed in many clinical and brachytherapy procedures. Needle bending which results from needle–tissue interaction and needle flexibility plays a pivotal role in implantation accuracy. In this paper, a needle insertion force model and a mechanics-based needle deflection model are applied in simulating the real needle insertion process. Using tissue-equivalent materials, the needle force model is acquired from needle insertion experiments. Based on the principle of minimum potential energy, a mechanics-based model is developed to calculate needle deflection. The needle deflection model incorporates needle insertion forces model, needle–tissue interaction model, needle geometric, and tissue properties. The bending–stretching coupling and geometric non-linearity of the flexible needle are both taken into consideration in the needle deflection model. A modified p–y curves method is first introduced in depicting the lateral needle–tissue interaction. The comparison between experimental and simulation results of needle deflection shows that our mechanics-based model can simulate the deflection of the flexible needle with reasonable accuracy. Parametric studies on different geometry properties of needles show that our mechanics-based model can precisely predict the needle deflection when more than one parameter is changed. In addition, as the needle deflection results are obtained numerically by Rayleigh–Ritz approach, further study on the form of deflection formulation leads to the conclusion that choosing a higher order polynomial can improve the overall simulation accuracy.
Analysis for the epidural needle insertion force against porcine bone
