Method and system for automated and semi-automated ultrasound scanning

A collaborative robot system for ultrasound scanning, comprising:

• a robot arm;
• an ultrasound transducer coupled to an end of the robot arm;
• a controller for controlling movement of the robot arm;
• at least one processor configured for:
• determining a goal view;
• selecting a trained navigation model associated with the goal view;
• applying the selected navigation model to generate movement coordinates for translating and orienting the robot arm to the goal view;
• applying a contact maintenance model to generate an orientation command for the transducer;
• applying a safe actuation model based on the outputs of the navigation model and/or contact maintenance model to generate torque and force outputs to operate the robot arm;
• and
• operating the robot arm based on torque and force outputs generated by the safe actuation model.