Master–slave robotic platform and its feasibility study for micro‐neurosurgery

Abstract

Microsurgery is a widely performed process in neurosurgery. However, it is difficult for surgeons because manipulating small and long instruments under a microscope often restricts dexterity. Hand tremors are also an issue, as the accuracy required for microsurgery is very high. A master-slave robotic platform has been developed for neurosurgery. A position-orientation decoupled design was employed to enhance positioning accuracy, and a smooth trajectory generation method was developed. The robotic tasks exhibited improved positioning accuracy compared to manual tasks. Anastomoses of 0.3 and 0.5 mm artificial vessels were successfully performed in end-to-end and end-to-side fashion. With the robotic platform, the surgeon was able to perform a fine and complex task, which is very difficult with manual operation. The robotic system showed sufficient accuracy and dexterity, but with a longer task completion time. Further improvement of the dexterity and user interface is expected to realize better performance.