Visual servoing for semi-automated 2D ultrasound scanning of peripheral arteries

2D ultrasound (US) is a commonly used imaging technique for diagnostic and aftercare purposes in vascular medicine. Nonetheless, the acquisition is still a user-dependent and time-consuming process. To overcome these disadvantages, we propose a semi-automated scan of peripheral arteries by means of a robotic arm with an US probe at its end effector. The system was evaluated by checking its feasibility to scan the femoral artery of a leg phantom and measuring the duration of a scan. In 27 out of 30 trials the robot reached its target point along the leg phantom with a mean duration of 61.4 s.