SBIR Phase II: Tele-Directed Artificially Intelligent Sonography Robot

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to create a telerobotic system for the administration of sonographs, with an initial focus on echocardiograms. The wait times for echocardiograms can be upwards of 12 weeks with approximately 7 million performed annually in the U.S. This issue is compounded by a nationwide shortage of sonographers, disparities in the distribution of these professionals, and high burnout rates linked to workplace injuries from repetitive tasks. An echocardiogram is the first line of care for patients presenting with acute symptoms suggestive of some life threatening conditions. These include myocardial infarction, acute valvular regurgitation, stenosis, cardiac tamponade, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular accident (“stroke”), endocarditis, pericarditis, life threatening arrhythmias, and myocarditis. 1. Increases the throughput per sonographer by enabling simultaneous supervision of data acquisition, 2.Reduces workplace injuries that shorten cardiac sonographers’ careers, and 3. Reduces the need for a collocated workforce of specialized skill sets and thereby increasing access to care. In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death killing one person every 33 seconds. The first step to help solve this problem is fast access to diagnostic imaging such as echocardiograms. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project building upon Phase I results that showed the capability of the robotic system to capture high-quality images from a single transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) view using machine vision to identify proper probe deployment on the body and using robotic controls to safely move the probe without surpassing safe pressure thresholds nor losing contact with the skin. Phase II will build upon this robust foundation, aiming to validate and broaden the technology's capabilities to meet the exacting standards of our customers. The project