Robotic Ultrasound

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Overview

Robotic ultrasound studies how robots can position and move a probe to find diagnostic views, build 3D images, and guide interventions while maintaining safe contact with the body. Approaches combine image-based visual servoing, force and impedance control, anatomical priors, imitation or reinforcement learning, and newer vision-language-action and world models that plan from clinical goals and feedback. Work spans tasks such as standard-view acquisition, organ navigation, needle guidance, and volumetric reconstruction, with evaluation in simulation, phantoms, and human studies. A central challenge is making systems reliable across patients and imaging conditions while balancing image quality, contact safety, speed, and generalization from limited clinical data.

Latest papers

CardsList

27 papers6 papers in the last four weeks, up 100% on the four weeks before. 0.0% of all new papers.

  1. From Freehand Demonstrations to Autonomous Robotic Ultrasound: An Anatomy-Anchored Learning Framework

    Oct 23, 2026Yuan Bi, Fangxu Han, Ye Su +3Robotic UltrasoundImitation Learning

    Chair for Computer Aided Medical Procedures (CAMP), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany · Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML), Munich, Germany · Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

  2. SonoWorld: Towards Interactive Pose-Controllable Ultrasound World Models

    Oct 14, 2026Zefan Yang, Zheyuan Zhang, Boris Maihe +7World ModelsAction-Conditioned World Models

    United Imaging Intelligence, Boston, MA, USA · Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA

  3. UltraWorld: Learning Interactive Ultrasound World Models from Untracked Clinical Videos with Acoustic Sampling Map

    Oct 7, 2026Keke Yang, Erqi Wang, Sainan Guan +1Interactive World ModelsWorld Models for Robotics

    The Chinese University of Hong Kong · The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University

  4. Recon2Servo: Robotic Ultrasound Visual Servoing via Learned Image-to-Motion Inference

    Oct 5, 2026Yameng Zhang, Pei Liu, Dianye Huang +5Relative Pose EstimationRobotic Ultrasound

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. · Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. · School of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Germany. +2

  5. Dual-Rate Force-Image Control with Model-Based Orientation Limits for Robotic Ultrasound

    Oct 5, 2026Tyler Foster, Qiang Zhang, A B M Tahidul Haque +1Robotic ControlRobotic Ultrasound

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA · Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA · Department of Computer Science, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA

  6. Contact-Aware Impedance Controller for Robot-Assisted Ultrasound Imaging

    Sep 28, 2026MD Miraj Arefin, M Efe TiryakiImpedance ControlUltrasound Imaging

    Center for Robotics and AI (ROMER), Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

  7. Contact-Adaptive Robotic Ultrasound Probe Control for Tissue Exploration and Continuous Task-Relevant Visualization Using Robot-Free Image-Motion Demonstration

    Sep 27, 2026Seong Jeong, Minsung Kim, Dongho Yee +8Robotic UltrasoundAdaptive Control

    Department of Transdisciplinary Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital · Rosota Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea · Department of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine +6

  8. Scanning While Imagining: A Scene-Graph World Model for Robotic Ultrasound Navigation

    Sep 26, 2026Xuesong Li, Shuai Chen, Feng Li +3Robotic UltrasoundWorld Models for Robotics

    Computer Aided Medical Procedures (CAMP), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany · Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML), Munich, Germany · Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

  9. Tracker-Free Robotic Ultrasound Calibration with a Spherical-Marker Phantom and Threshold-Free Center Localization

    Sep 18, 2026Kyoungmo Koo, Guangshen Ma, Xueding Wang +1Robotic UltrasoundHand-Eye Calibration

    Department of Robotics, University of Michigan, 2505 Hayward St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA · Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1150 Medical Center Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA · Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan Medical School, 1000 Wall St, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA

  10. Task-Relevant Feature-Dynamics Fidelity Enables Zero-Shot Sim-to-Real Transfer for Robotic Ultrasound Scanning

    Aug 30, 2026Yizhao Qian, Jiayuan Luo, Wanyi Zhu +4Sim-to-Real TransferRobotic Ultrasound

    Department of Electronic Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China · School of Advanced Engineering, Great Bay University, and the Dongguan Great Bay Institute for Advanced Study, Dongguan, China · Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China +1

  11. US-VLA: An Ultrasound Vision-Language-Action Model for Embodied Abdomina

    Aug 17, 2026Cheng Zhang, Xingzheng Wu, Guihao Yan +4Robotic UltrasoundVision-Language-Action Models

    Innovation School of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei University of Technology Hefei, China

  12. ForceU-VLA: A Force-Aware Vision-Language-Action Model for Embodied Ultrasound Scanning

    Aug 15, 2026Xingzheng Wu, Cheng Zhang, Guihao Yan +3Robotic UltrasoundVision-Language-Action Models

    Faculty of Computer Science and Technology, Ocean University of China Qingdao, China · School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong University Qingdao, China · Innovation School of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei University of Technology Hefei, China

  13. From Self-Normal-Positioning to Omni-Directional Tracking: Real-Time Surface Modeling Enabled Probe Tilt Control for Robotic Ultrasound Imaging

    Aug 11, 2026Xihan Ma, Haichong ZhangRobotic ControlUltrasound Imaging

    Department of Robotics Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609 USA

  14. Learning-based Hierarchical Tracheal Anatomy Understanding from Sparse Surgical Demonstration Annotations for Ultrasound Robots

    Jul 24, 2026Hiu Ching Cheung, Wenchao Yue, Zhengran Han +4Ultrasound Image SegmentationPromptable Image Segmentation

    Department of Electronic Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China · Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom · Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hong Kong, China +1

  15. Action-Conditioned World Model for Goal Plane Guidance in Robotic Neck Ultrasound

    Jul 24, 2026Siqi Fan, Ran Liu, Zixuan Yang +6World Model LearningAction-Conditioned World Models

    Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR · Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Hong Kong Institute of Science & Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hong Kong SAR · Department of Vascular Ultrasound, Xuanwu Hospital, the Capital Medical University +3

  16. EmbodiedUS-FS: Fast Slow Intelligence for Ultrasound Robotics

    Jun 21, 2026Fangzhuo Zhang, Xinyu Wang, Xiao Yang +1Robotic ControlRobotics

    independent researcher · University of Wyoming · Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy +1

  17. Visuotactile and Explicitly Force-Controlled Robotic Ultrasound for Abdominal Volumetric Reconstruction

    Jun 4, 2026Adrian Piedra, R Brooke Jeffrey, Oussama KhatibRobotic Control3D Medical Imaging

    Stanford Robotics Laboratory, Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA · Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA

  18. SAMe: A Semantic Anatomy Mapping Engine for Robotic Ultrasound

    Apr 28, 2026Jing Zhang, Duojie Chen, Wentao Jiang +7Ultrasound ImagingRobotic Ultrasound

    School of Computer Science, Wuhan University, China · Hubei Center for Applied Mathematics, Wuhan University, China · Department of Ultrasound, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, China +4

  19. A Vision-Language-Action Model for Adaptive Ultrasound-Guided Needle Insertion and Needle Tracking

    Apr 22, 2026Yuelin Zhang, Qingpeng Ding, Longxiang Tang +2Robotic InsertionRobotic Ultrasound

    Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong · Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong · Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, China +1

  20. Saranga: MilliWatt Ultrasound for Navigation in Visually Degraded Environments on Palm-Sized Aerial Robots

    Mar 25, 2026Manoj Velmurugan, Phillip Brush, Colin Balfour +2Robot NavigationRobotic Ultrasound

    Perception and Autonomous Robotics (PeAR) Group, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA. · TDK InvenSense, Berkeley, CA 94710, USA.

  21. Feasibility of Augmented Reality-Guided Robotic Ultrasound with Cone-Beam CT Integration for Spine Procedures

    Mar 23, 2026Tianyu Song, Felix Pabst, Feng Li +5AR in SurgeryRobotic Ultrasound

    Chair for Computer Aided Medical Procedures(CAMP), Technical University of Munich(TUM), Munich, Germany · Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML), Munich, Germany

  22. Anatomical Prior-Driven Framework for Autonomous Robotic Cardiac Ultrasound Standard View Acquisition

    Mar 22, 2026Zhiyan Cao, Zhengxi Wu, Yiwei Wang +5Robotic UltrasoundEchocardiography

    The authors are with the State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China. · Zhengxi Wu is with the School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China. · Yiwei Wang is also with the Institute of Medical Equipment Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China. +3

  23. A Unified Platform and Quality Assurance Framework for 3D Ultrasound Reconstruction with Robotic, Optical, and Electromagnetic Tracking

    Mar 20, 2026Lewis Howell, Manisha Waterston, Tze Min Wah +23D ReconstructionMedical Imaging

    School of Computer Science, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT · School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT · St James’s University Hospital, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, LS9 7TF +1

  24. From Scanning Guidelines to Action: A Robotic Ultrasound Agent with LLM-Based Reasoning

    Mar 15, 2026Yuan Bi, Yiping Zhou, Pei Liu +3Robotic UltrasoundLarge Language Model-Based Robot Planning

    Chair for Computer-Aided Medical Procedures and Augmented Reality, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany · Munich Center for Machine Learning, Munich, Germany · Medical Intelligence and Robotic Cognition Lab, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

  25. DAISS: Phase-Aware Imitation Learning for Dual-Arm Robotic Ultrasound-Guided Interventions

    Mar 8, 2026Feng Li, Pei Liu, Shiting Wang +4Bimanual Robotic ManipulationRobot Imitation Learning

    Chair for Computer Aided Medical Procedures(CAMP), Technical University of Munich(TUM), Munich, Germany · Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML), Munich, Germany · The University of Hong Kong(HKU), Hong Kong, China

  26. RAG-RUSS: A Retrieval-Augmented Robotic Ultrasound for Autonomous Carotid Examination

    Mar 1, 2026Dianye Huang, Ziping Cong, Nassir Navab +1Robotic UltrasoundRobotics

    Computer-Aided Medical Procedures and Augmented Reality (CAMP), Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany · Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML), Germany

  27. Towards Autonomous Robotic Kidney Ultrasound: Spatial-Efficient Volumetric Imaging via Template Guided Optimal Pivoting

    Feb 18, 2026Xihan Ma, Haichong ZhangRobotic UltrasoundUltrasound Imaging