Carly: The Miniature Autonomous Vein Injection Robot

Abstract

Vein injection is the process by which a needle is mechanically inserted into the vein of a subject, and is the basis for which either medicine delivery or blood withdrawal can occur. Classically, vein injection has been performed by trained nurses or doctors. However, the success rate for such trained professionals is only at 70% [1], and the aim of this research is to provide a more accurate and robust solution by leveraging the best that robotics has to offer. This report covers the design, construction and testing of a continuous autonomous roto-linear γ bot (CARLY, where γ is the process of vein searching and injection). If successful, it will be the first and smallest one of its kind–no current state of the art fully autonomous vein injection robot has ever been built before. Idea and principle is prioritized over granular detail; the aim of this report is to convey the creativity behind the iterative design process rather than a precise delineation of all steps conducted; the former assumes less knowledge on the part of the reader and conveys essence rather than substance. Organization is provided along three main axes: design, construction and testing, thus highlighting the critical components of the design iteration process. Special emphasis is given to design however, since the most insight and original thinking occurs at this stage in development process. Along these three axes, the report is further broken down into separate hardware, electrical and software modules given the wide scope of the project. Overall 3+ design iterations were obtained before obtaining the final design configuration. The final design configuration contains patent pending bi-axial roto-linear actuation with an infrared based vein imaging system and adaptive self-correcting laser alignment system. Robot architecture is supported by custom control system (optimal control based) as well as a CAN bus network for robust medical grade node to node communication within the machine (supported by custom PCB development). It is shown that Carly succesfully meets design specifications where testing is available.