Optimal Path Planning for Stereotactic Neurosurgery based on an Elastostatic Cannula Model

In this paper, we propose a path-planning problem for stereotactic neurosurgery using concentric tube robots. The main goal is to reach a given region of interest inside the brain, e.g. a tumor, starting from a feasible point on the skull with an ideally short path avoiding certain sensitive brain areas. To describe the shape of the entire cannula from an entry point to the point of interest we use an existing mechanical model for continuum robots. We show numerically that our approach enables the surgeon to reach areas within the brain that would be impossible with a straight cannula as it is currently state of the art.