Medical Robotics Research Articles

IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics Society Information

IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics Society Information

IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics Publication Information

IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics Publication Information

A Perspective on Miniature Soft Robotics: Actuation, Fabrication, Control, and Applications

Soft robotics enriches the robotic functionalities by engineering soft materials and electronics toward enhanced compliance, adaptivity, and friendly human machine. This decade has witnessed extraordinary progresses and benefits in scaling down soft robotics to small scale for a wide range of potential and promising applications, including medical and surgical soft robots, wearable and rehabilitation robots, and unconstructed environments exploration. This perspective highlights recent research efforts in miniature soft robotics in a brief and comprehensive way in terms of actuation, powering, designs, fabrication, control, and applications in four sections. Section 2 discusses the key aspects of materials selection and structural designs for small‐scale tethered and untethered actuation and powering, including fluidic actuation, stimuli‐responsive actuation, and soft living biohybrid materials, as well as structural forms from 1D to 3D. Section 3 discusses the advanced manufacturing techniques at small scales for fabricating miniature soft robots, including lithography, mechanical self‐assembly, additive manufacturing, tissue engineering, and other fabrication methods. Section 4 discusses the control systems used in miniature robots, including off‐board/onboard controls and artificial intelligence‐based controls. Section 5 discusses their potential broad applications in healthcare, small‐scale objects manipulating and processing, and environmental monitoring. Finally, outlooks on the challenges and opportunities are discussed.

Image-Guided Programming Tool for DBS Programming Used with a Multiple-Source, Constant-Current System Reduces Initial Programming Time (P4-11.012)

Image-Guided Programming Tool for DBS Programming Used with a Multiple-Source, Constant-Current System Reduces Initial Programming Time (P4-11.012)

A medical assistive robot for tele-healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: development and usability study in an isolation ward.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting the mental and emotional well-being of patients, family members, and healthcare workers. Patients in the isolation ward may have psychological problems due to long-term hospitalization, the development of the epidemic, and the inability to meet their families. The medical assistive robot (MAR), acting as an intermediary of communication, can be deployed to address mental pressures. CareDo, a MAR with telepresence and teleoperation functions, is developed in this work for remote healthcare. This study aims to investigate its practical performance in the isolation ward during the pandemic. Two systems were integrated into the CareDo robot. For the telepresence system, web real-time communications solution is used for the multi-user chat system and the convolutional neural network is used for expression recognition. For the teleoperation system, an incremental motion mapping method is used for operating the robot remotely. This study was finally conducted at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University for clinical trials. During the clinical trials in First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, tasks such as video chatting, emotion detection, and medical supplies delivery are performed through this robot. Seven voice commands are set for performing system wakeup, video chatting, and system exiting. Statistical durations from 1 second to 3 seconds of common commands are set to improve voice command detection. The facial expression was recorded 152 times for a patient in one day for the psychological intervention. The recognition accuracy reaches 95% and 92.8% for happy and neutral expressions respectively. Patients and healthcare workers can use this MAR in the isolation ward for tele-healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be a useful approach to break the chains of virus transmission, and also an effective way for remote psychological intervention.

N-mirror Robot System for Laser Surgery: A Simulation Study.

Automated laser surgery with sensor fusion is an important problem in medical robotics since it requires precise control of mirrors used to steer the laser systems. The propagation of the laser beam should satisfy the geometric constraints of the surgical site but the relation between the number of mirrors and the design of the optical path remains an unsolved problem. Furthermore, different types of surgery (e.g. endoscopic vs open surgery) can require different optical designs with varying number of mirrors to successfully steer the laser beam to the tissue. A generalized method for controlling the laser beam in such systems remains an open research question. This paper proposes an analytical model for a laser-based surgical system with an arbitrary number of mirrors, which is referred as an "-mirror" robotic system. This system consists of three laser inputs to transmit the laser beam to the tissue surface through number of mirrors, which can achieve surface scanning, tissue resection and tissue classification separately. For sensor information alignment, the forward and inverse kinematics of the -mirror robot system are derived and used to calculate the mirror angles for laser steering at the target surface. We propose a system calibration method to determine the laser input configuration that is required in the kinematic modelling. We conduct simulation experiments for a simulated 3-mirror system of an actual robotic laser platform and a 6-mirror simulated robot, both with 3-laser inputs. The simulation experiments for system calibration show results of maximum position offset smaller than 0.127 mm and maximum angle offset smaller than 0.05° for the optimal laser input predictions.

ROBOTIC TECHNIQUE IN DENTAL IMPLANT - REVIEW

Robots are now utilised in every field of research due to technological improvements; their capacity to execute accurate work without tiredness has led to their employment in dentistry. Early robots needed a human operator, but last decade robotic systems have grown quickly, and the most advanced medical robots can autonomously intervene with patients or monitor automatically. This article will introduce robotics in dental field about its function in implantology, the types of robotics now used in implantology, and its effects on implantology. In conclusion Robotics has positive effects on patients when compare to conventional dental implants placement

Path Planning for Obstacle Avoidance of Robot Arm Based on Improved Potential Field Method.

In medical and surgical scenarios, the trajectory planning of a collaborative robot arm is a difficult problem. The artificial potential field (APF) algorithm is a classic method for robot trajectory planning, which has the characteristics of good real-time performance and low computing consumption. There are many variants of the APF algorithm, among which the most widely used variants is the velocity potential field (VPF) algorithm. However, the traditional VPF algorithm has inherent defects and problems, such as easily falling into local minimum, being unable to reach the target, poor dynamic obstacle avoidance ability, and safety and efficiency problems. Therefore, this work presents the improved velocity potential field (IVPF) algorithm, which considers direction factors, obstacle velocity factor, and tangential velocity. When encountering dynamic obstacles, the IVPF algorithm can avoid obstacles better to ensure the safety of both the human and robot arm. The IVPF algorithm also does not easily fall into a local problem when encountering different obstacles. The experiments informed the RRT* algorithm, VPF algorithm, and IVPF algorithm for comparison. Compared with the informed RRT* and VPF algorithm, the result of experiments indicate that the performances of the IVPF algorithm have significant improvements when dealing with different obstacles. The main aim of this paper is to provide a safe and efficient path planning algorithm for the robot arm in the medical field. The proposed algorithm can ensure the safety of both the human and the robot arm when the medical and surgical robot arm is working, and enables the robot arm to cope with emergencies and perform tasks better. The application of the proposed algorithm could make the collaborative robots work in a flexible and safe condition, which could open up new opportunities for the future development of medical and surgical scenarios.

Global research status and trends in orthopaedic surgical robotics: a bibliometric and visualisation analysis study.

This study aimed to investigate and summarise the current state of research and trends in orthopaedic surgical robots. Data on publicly available publications related to orthopaedic surgical robots were extracted by abstract searches of the Web of Science Core Collection database. A bibliometric analysis and detailed reading of the publications were then carried out and the information was visualised using co-authorship analysis, coupling analysis, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence analysis in VOSviewer. With 436 publications included in the study from 1993 to 2022, the overall contribution of publications to the world showed an increasing trend year by year, with a particularly pronounced after 2017, and a geographical trend of predominantly East Asia, North America, and Western Europe. Of these, China was the largest contributor (n = 128). Overall, the UK affiliates and their scholars were leaders in the field, with a high number of publications, total citations, average citations per article and H-index. The most published institutions and authors were Imperial College London (n = 21) and Professor Fares Sahi Haddad of University College London (n = 12), respectively. Journals with a high overall impact on robotic orthopaedic surgery were the Journal of Arthroplasty, Bone Joint Journal, International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery. Keyword co-occurrence network analysis revealed four main clusters: robot-assisted knee, hip arthroplasty, spine surgery, and robotic technology research and development. The top three most common sites for robot-assisted surgery use were the knee, hip and spine. The most used robot types were the knee and spine, with Mako and Arobot being the most used robots for the knee and TiRobot for the spine. This study comprehensively reveals the current status and trends of global research on orthopaedic surgical robots, covering countries, institutions, authors, journals, research hotspots, robot types and surgical sites, providing directional guidance and research ideas for further research on the technological development and clinical evaluation of orthopaedic surgical robots.

Dynamic analysis of a soft capsule robot self-propelling in the small intestine via finite element method

To reduce potential trauma to the intestine caused by the rigid shell while also optimising its progression efficiency, an elastomer coating was applied to a self-propelled capsule robot for small-bowel endoscopy. The robot is self-propelled by its periodically excited inner mass interacting with the main body of the capsule in the presence of intestinal resistance. This work explored the dynamic responses of the capsule with different elastomer coatings (i.e., different elastic moduli and thicknesses) in the lumen of the small intestine through a three-dimensional finite element analysis. The driving parameters of the robot, including the amplitude, frequency and duty cycle of a square-wave excitation, were further tested to reveal the dynamics of this soft robot. By analysing numerical results, the proposed finite element model can provide quantitative predictions on the contact pressure, resistance force and robot-intestine dynamics under different elastomer coatings. It was found that the softer the elastomer coating is, the lesser the contact pressure between the robot and the intestine, thus implying lesser trauma. The findings of this work can provide design guidelines and an evaluation means for robotic engineers who are developing soft medical robots for bowel examinations as well as clinical practitioners working on capsule endoscopy.

Prospect and Application of Medical Robots in the Context of Epidemic

Under the background of the modern epidemic, where exposed the disadvantages of epidemic prevention, and the safety of health care workers cannot be guaranteed, the medical efficiency can't satisfy people's basic needs, it also cannot reasonable allocation of medical resources. The robot by its efficient characteristics will assume greater responsibility. This article based on the current domestic and international policies and forms to analyze the key technology of the current medical robot. Several types of medical assistant robot in the market are analyzed, the advantages and disadvantages of the robot are given, some suggestions for improvement are put forward, the future development prospect of the robot is analyzed and the market is prospected. Through a series of investigations and studies, it is found that the medical robot can indeed play a very good help to the medical staff, and optimize the nucleic acid process. Moreover, it can effectively protect the safety of medical staff, reduce the possibility of novel coronavirus transmission, save people's time and improve handling efficiency. However, due to the insufficient development of the Internet technology in the past, there are still some problems in these robots. In conclusion, Robots are highly efficient, need less rest time than humans and have a lower probability of making mistakes.

Medical Assistant Robot With Patient Trajectory Reading Based on Odometry using Photovoltaic source

Robotics technology is growing and being applied in various fields such as education, industry, household, and health. In the world of health, mobile robots are one of the robotics technologies that can provide solutions to overcome the problem of treatment carried out on patients infected with infectious diseases. With the medical assistant robot, treatment efforts can be carried out by not making direct contact with patients and nurses so that the risk of nurses contracting the disease can be reduced. Mobile robot is one type of robot that can move in all directions. Autonomous mobile robot is a type of robot that is able to move to a destination automatically. By utilizing this robot in health services, it can help several tasks of medical personnel, such as monitoring patients, as a delivery person for medicines, food, and goods. For the implementation of this autonomous mobile robot, a good navigation system and control system algorithm is needed. In this study, the principle of odometry will be implemented in tracking path on a medical assistant robot. In the experiment of adjusting the position of the robot’s motion, it can be seen that the robot can move according to the expected position by adding a PID control to correct the error value in the position of the robot.

Asymptotically optimal inspection planning via efficient near-optimal search on sampled roadmaps

Inspection planning, the task of planning motions for a robot that enable it to inspect a set of points of interest, has applications in domains such as industrial, field, and medical robotics. Inspection planning can be computationally challenging, as the search space over motion plans grows exponentially with the number of points of interest to inspect. We propose a novel method, Incremental Random Inspection-roadmap Search (IRIS), that computes inspection plans whose length and set of successfully inspected points asymptotically converge to those of an optimal inspection plan. IRIS incrementally densifies a motion-planning roadmap using a sampling-based algorithm and performs efficient near-optimal graph search over the resulting roadmap as it is generated. We prove the resulting algorithm is asymptotically optimal under very general assumptions about the robot and the environment. We demonstrate IRIS’s efficacy on a simulated inspection task with a planar five DOF manipulator, on a simulated bridge inspection task with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and on a medical endoscopic inspection task for a continuum parallel surgical robot in cluttered human anatomy. In all these systems IRIS computes higher-quality inspection plans orders of magnitudes faster than a prior state-of-the-art method.

A Decade of MRI Compatible Robots: Systematic Review

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers better visualization for diagnosis, interventional radiology, and surgery from other imaging modalities without X-ray exposure. Medical robots have provided solutions for many surgical and rehabilitation procedures. A symbiosis of MRI and robotics can allow manipulation in closed MR-gantry, decrease trauma, operation, and recovery time for patients and improve the dexterity, convenience, and surgical outcome for physicians. However, the inherent properties and limitations of MR scanners had hindered their development. Technological advancements in the field of computers, additive manufacturing, and sensing in the past decade have changed robotics and the focus shifted again toward MRI-compatible robots. This article provides a compendium of the state-of-the-art literature on robotic systems developed for the MRI environment presented between 2009 and 2021. The systematic review discusses surgical and fMRI study robots, the actuation, and sensing solutions developed to assist such robots, recent research emphasis, current limitations, and prospects.

MP46-09 ROBOT-ASSISTED RADICAL CYSTECTOMY UTILIZING THE VERSIUS SYSTEM BY CAMBRIDGE MEDICAL ROBOTICS

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023MP46-09 ROBOT-ASSISTED RADICAL CYSTECTOMY UTILIZING THE VERSIUS SYSTEM BY CAMBRIDGE MEDICAL ROBOTICS Ahmed Elsayed, Mahmoud Abdelhakim, Moustafa Abdelraouf, Farouk Algammal, and Ahmed Sharawy Ahmed ElsayedAhmed Elsayed More articles by this author , Mahmoud AbdelhakimMahmoud Abdelhakim More articles by this author , Moustafa AbdelraoufMoustafa Abdelraouf More articles by this author , Farouk AlgammalFarouk Algammal More articles by this author , and Ahmed SharawyAhmed Sharawy More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003292.09AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Radical cystectomy remains the most effective treatment for patients with localized, muscle invasive bladder cancer and recurrent / refractory non-muscle invasive disease. We report our experience and perioperative outcomes with 4 cases of robot-assisted radical cystectomy Utilizing the Versius System by Cambridge Medical Robotics. METHODS: Four patients (4 males) underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy and orthotopic urinary diversion for clinically localized bladder cancer. We utilized the 4 bedside units of the Versius system, camera and two working ports and a second left side arm was used for retraction. Perioperative outcomes were assessed operative details. RESULTS: The mean age was 68 years, the mean operative time was 380 min, console time was 180 min. The mean estimated blood loss was 250 ml, and none required blood transfusion. Conversion to laparoscopy was done in one patient. The mean length of hospital stay was three days. CONCLUSIONS: We report our early experience with robot-assisted radical cystectomy for the treatment of bladder cancer, which seems to provide an acceptable surgical and pathological outcomes. Source of Funding: None © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e634 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Ahmed Elsayed More articles by this author Mahmoud Abdelhakim More articles by this author Moustafa Abdelraouf More articles by this author Farouk Algammal More articles by this author Ahmed Sharawy More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

Design of a Novel Haptic Joystick for the Teleoperation of Continuum-Mechanism-Based Medical Robots

Continuum robots are increasingly used in medical applications and the master–slave-based architectures are still the most important mode of operation in human–machine interaction. However, the existing master control devices are not fully suitable for either the mechanical mechanism or the control method. This study proposes a brand-new, four-degree-of-freedom haptic joystick whose main control stick could rotate around a fixed point. The rotational inertia is reduced by mounting all powertrain components on the base plane. Based on the design, kinematic and static models are proposed for position perception and force output analysis, while at the same time gravity compensation is also performed to calibrate the system. Using a continuum-mechanism-based trans-esophageal ultrasound robot as the test platform, a master–slave teleoperation scheme with position–velocity mapping and variable impedance control is proposed to integrate the speed regulation on the master side and the force perception on the slave side. The experimental results show that the main accuracy of the design is within 1.6°. The workspace of the control sticks is −60° to 110° in pitch angle, −40° to 40° in yaw angle, −180° to 180° in roll angle, and −90° to 90° in translation angle. The standard deviation of force output is within 8% of the full range, and the mean absolute error is 1.36°/s for speed control and 0.055 N for force feedback. Based on this evidence, it is believed that the proposed haptic joystick is a good addition to the existing work in the field with well-developed and effective features to enable the teleoperation of continuum robots for medical applications.

Modular robot interface for a smart operating theater.

This paper discusses the architecture and implementation of a modular component of the smart operating theater digital twin, designed to control robotic equipment-the robot interface module. This interface is designed to ensure equipment operation both in a real smart operating theater and in the virtual space of its digital twin-the computer simulation. Using such an interface in the digital twin will make it possible to use it in computer-assisted training of surgeons, preliminary planning, post-analysis, and simulation, preceding the operation of real equipment. An experimental implementation of a prototype robot interface to enable the KUKA LBR Med 14 R820 medical robot operation using the FRI protocol was developed, and experiments were performed on real equipment and its digital twin.

Electrospun Nanofibers Hybrid Wrinkled Micropyramidal Architectures for Elastic Self-Powered Tactile and Motion Sensors.

Conformable, sensitive, long-lasting, external power supplies-free multifunctional electronics are highly desired for personal healthcare monitoring and artificial intelligence. Herein, we report a series of stretchable, skin-like, self-powered tactile and motion sensors based on single-electrode mode triboelectric nanogenerators. The triboelectric sensors were composed of ultraelastic polyacrylamide (PAAm)/(polyvinyl pyrrolidone) PVP/(calcium chloride) CaCl2 conductive hydrogels and surface-modified silicon rubber thin films. The significant enhancement of electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofiber-modified hierarchically wrinkled micropyramidal architectures for the friction layer was studied. The mechanism of the enhanced output performance of the electrospun PVDF nanofibers and the single-side/double-side wrinkled micropyramidal architectures-based sensors has been discussed in detail. The as-prepared devices exhibited excellent sensitivity of a maximum of 20.1 V/N (or 8.03 V/kPa) as tactile sensors to recognize a wide range of forces from 0.1 N to 30 N at low frequencies. In addition, multiple human motion monitoring was demonstrated, such as knee, finger, wrist, and neck movement and voice recognition. This work shows great potential for skin-like epidermal electronics in long-term medical monitoring and intelligent robot applications.

Антропоморфные роботы в медицине: варианты технологий и перспективы.

Introduction. Anthropomorphic robots may eventually occupy a special niche in medicine, performing physically demanding, as well as emotionally monotonous work. As artificial intelligence is introduced, ARs will become more complex and their functions will expand. Materials and methods. For a review on anthropomorphic robots, foreign and Russian scientific publications were studied. It should be noted that the Russian segment of scientific publications for the keywords «anthropomorphic robots», «humanoid robots», «social robots» is extremely small and does not reflect the current world practice. 20 articles were selected from foreign sources. 2 own classifications have been developed - medical robots and anthropomorphic medical robots. Results. In recent years, there has been an explosive growth in the development of robotics. Along with industrial, military, service robots, the development of medical robots is going its own way. A universal anthropomorphic robot is a complex combination of a musculoskeletal system, mechanical limbs, a voice recognition system, space and neural networks capable of processing and understanding the environment and voice commands. The hallmark of AR at the time of writing: lack of cognitive ability and physical autonomy. The use of AR in certain medical fields is described, an attempt is made to determine the social aspects of AR. Conclusions. The greatest demand for anthropomorphic (humanoid) robots in medicine will be for caring for the elderly and for patients with limited motor functions, during pandemics or other potentially life-threatening situations. In the future, at the stage of introducing artificial intelligence, a thorough study of the legislation and the security system of such robots is required. Currently, the cost of AR is quite high, but in the future, cost reduction will be associated with the absence of costs for changing the environment for using such robots, which may be economically justified. The most important aspect of the use of AR is emotional interaction with a person and the safety of the latter.

Fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing in surgical robots: a review

PurposeWith the increasing development of the surgical robots, the opto-mechatronic technologies are more potential in the robotics system optimization. The optic signal plays an important role in opto-mechatronic systems. This paper aims to present a review of the research status on fiber-optic-based force and shape sensors in surgical robots.Design/methodology/approachAdvances of fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing techniques in the past 20 years are investigated and summarized according to different surgical requirement and technical characteristics. The research status analysis and development prospects are discussed.FindingsCompared with traditional electrical signal conduction, the phototransduction provides higher speed transmission, lower signal loss and the immunity to electromagnetic interference in robot perception. Most importantly, more and more advanced optic-based sensing technologies are applied to medical robots in the past two decades because the prominence is magnetic resonance imaging compatibility. For medical robots especially, fiber-optic sensing technologies can improve working security, manipulating accuracy and provide force and shape feedback to surgeon.Originality/valueThis is a new perspective. This paper mainly researches the application of optical fiber sensor according to different surgeries which is beneficial to learn the great potential of optical fiber sensor in surgical robots. By enumerating the research progress of medical robots in optimization design, multimode sensing and advanced materials, the development tendency of fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing technologies in surgical robots is prospected.