Design, proof-of-concept of single robotic hair transplant mechanisms for both harvest and implant of hair grafts

Abstract

The design and development of a prototype for a singular robotic hair transplant system capable of harvesting and implanting hair grafts were executed in this study. To establish a proof-of-concept for hair transplant procedures involving harvesting and implantation, a test system using a spherical phantom of the scalp was selected. The developed prototype of the robotic hair transplant system demonstrates the potential to reduce the duration that grafts remain without a blood supply, thereby minimizing hair graft damage. Additionally, the overall operation time for follicular unit extraction is comparatively shorter than that of conventional systems. Results from the robot vision tests indicate an 89.6% accuracy for hair graft detection with a 4 mm hair length phantom and 97.4% for a 2 mm hair length phantom. In the robot position control test, the root mean square error was found to be 1.268°, with a standard error of the mean of 0.203°. These outcomes suggest that the proposed system performs effectively under the conditions of a spherical phantom with a 2 mm hair length and a 5 mm distance between harvests.