Robotic Forceps Research Articles

ばね要素を複合的に用いた小型多自由度鉗子ロボットのモデル化と評価

To develop a further compact, lightweight, versatile surgical robotic system for laparoscopy, we designed novel robotic forceps developed based on compliant mechanism within the diameter of 6 mm. In this paper, we present the mechanical model and its evaluation tested on the prototype.

J1630102 単孔式腹腔鏡下手術用腹腔鏡ロボットの生体信号収集ヘッドセットによる操作

The forceps robot and laparoscope robot for single-port-surgery have been developed in our previous study. The forceps robot is controlled by master slave control system using an input device Omega.7. Then, surgeon manipulates the Omega.7 with his both hands during the surgery. Therefore, he cannot manipulate the laparoscope robot with his hand. In this paper, a control method of the laparoscope robot without using hand is proposed. To this end, a biosignal acquisition headset, Emotiv EPOC, is used as an input device for the laparoscope robot. Three kinds of operator's face expression and two kinds of head movements of the operator are detected by the Emotiv EPOC. Then, operation method at the tip of the laparoscope is determined using these expressions and head movements. Thus, the target position of the tip of the laparoscope is given by operating the Emotiv EPOC. A control system of the tip position of the laparoscope is constructed based on the inverse kinematics of the laparoscope robot using the PID controller. In order to verify a usability of the proposed system, experiments on the view control with Emotiv EPOC were executed.

Improvement of an Algorithm for Estimation of Reaction Torque and Compensation for Elongation of Wire for Wire-Actuated Robotic Forceps

Improvement of an Algorithm for Estimation of Reaction Torque and Compensation for Elongation of Wire for Wire-Actuated Robotic Forceps

Hand-held multi-DOF robotic forceps for neurosurgery designed for dexterous manipulation in deep and narrow space.

Neurosurgical procedures require precise and dexterous manipulation of a surgical suture in narrow and deep spaces in the brain. This is necessary for surgical tasks such as the anastomosis of microscopic blood vessels and dura mater suturing. A hand-held multi-degree of freedom (DOF) robotic forceps was developed to aid the performance of such difficult tasks. The diameter of the developed robotic forceps is 3.5 mm, and its tip has three DOFs, namely, bending, rotation, and grip. Experimental results showed that the robotic forceps had an average needle insertion force of 1.7 N. Therefore, an increase in the needle insertion force is necessary for practical application of the developed device.

Heartbeat Synchronization With Haptic Feedback for Telesurgical Robot

Motion-canceling bilateral control, a teleoperation method, is proposed and implemented for telesurgical robots. Telesurgical robots have difficulty in achieving control owing to a lack of haptic feedback and the beating motion of organs. Hence, this study aims to provide a surgeon with the means for feeling the tactile sensation of the remote organ, as well as synchronizing with its motion. Therefore, a surgeon can treat the target using a master robot as if the organ is not moving even though it actually moves. The proposed method basically consists of acceleration-based bilateral control to achieve haptic feedback, and visual servoing is used to compensate for organ motion. The frequency characteristics and root locus of the proposed method are analyzed to evaluate its performance and stability, respectively. The proposal is validated through experiments using telesurgical forceps robots.

肺癌に対するロボット手術の現況と展望

Abstract As the use of robotic surgery has widely spread, its usefulness in the field of general thoracic surgery needs to be verified. The biggest advantage of robotic surgery is the remarkably free movement of joint-equipped robotic forceps under 3-dimensional high vision. An accurate operation makes complex procedures straightforward and may overcome the disadvantages of previous thoracoscopic surgery. Robotic surgery for lung cancer has been safely introduced, and the initial results have been favorable. While still at the stage of clinical research, it is expected to be useful in hilar exposure, lymph node dissection, and suturing of lung parenchyma or bronchus. We considered robotic surgery for lung cancer surgery because of its ability to facilitate both thoracotomy and minimally invasive video-assisted thoracic surgery. Robotic thoracic surgery has not been sufficiently examined for its usefulness, and other major issues such as safety management, education, and significant cost need to be addressed. However, it may become an extension of thoracoscopic surgery, and studies showing its usefulness for primary lung cancer have been increasing. Two urgent issues are its use in advanced medical care and national heal th insurance coverage.

Estimation of Reaction Torque and Compensation for Elongation of Wire for Wire Actuated Robotic Forceps

When a load is added to the tip of a wire actuated robotic forceps, tracking accuracy of the forceps is degraded due to the elastic elongation of the wire. In this paper, for the wire actuated robotic forceps, a new algorithm that can estimate a reaction torque and an amount of elongation of the wire, is proposed. By compensating for amount of elongation of the wire, track ability of the forceps is improved. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm was verified through simulation and experimental works.

3A1-B01 深部狭所での操作を対象とした脳神経外科手術用多自由度ロボット鉗子の開発(医療ロボティクス・メカトロニクス(1))

3A1-B01 深部狭所での操作を対象とした脳神経外科手術用多自由度ロボット鉗子の開発(医療ロボティクス・メカトロニクス(1))

Development of a Pneumatically-Driven Robotic Forceps with a Flexible Wrist Joint

The present paper describes a pneumatically-driven forceps manipulator for minimally-invasive robot surgery that has a simplified flexible wrist joint for easy fabrication, cost reduction and future miniaturization. The joint structure consists only of a machined spring, and four NiTi super-elastic wires fixed to the joint-end are actuated by pneumatic cylinders in push-pull motions. This mechanism realizes two degrees-of-freedom bending motions of the wrist joint and provides higher manipulation stiffness than other flexible joint mechanisms. Theoretical models of the proposed mechanism are developed; kinematic relation between joint positions and actuator displacements is described as a simple ideal continuum model, and dynamic model of the manipulator is described considering frictional and elastic forces of the joint mechanism. The joint position control system employs a cascade structure: the outer loop of the position control with dynamics compensation and the inner loop of the pneumatic force control. Performances of the joint position control are evaluated through elementary experiments, and effectiveness of the proposed joint mechanism is demonstrated.

Design and Control of a Robotic Forceps Manipulator with Screw-Drive Bending Mechanism and Extension of Its Motion Space

In this paper, a multi-DOF robotic forceps manipulator that was developed in our laboratory is reviewed. We have developed a new bending technique with a screwdrive mechanism so far, which allows for omnidirectional bending motion by rotating two linkages. The screwdrive mechanism, termed double-screw-drive (DSD) mechanism, was utilized in a multi-DOF robotic forceps manipulator for laparoscopic surgery. Control of a robotic forceps manipulator incorporating the DSD mechanism (DSD forceps) through a teleoperation system was attempted via a joystick-type manipulator. For the teleoperation system, a Lyapunov function based bilateral control law that is capable of motion scaling in both position and force tracking was proposed so as to guarantee stability of the teleoperation system in the presence of time-varying delay. Then, the proposed bilateral control law was adopted for omnidirectional bending of the DSD forceps. Thus, a scalable surgical device that can provide force feedback to surgeon via a joystick-type manipulator was achieved. In addition, to extend the motion space of the DSD mechanism, design of the former DSD mechanism was improved so that the degree of freedom of motion of the tip position is extended, and new DSD mechanism was proposed. In order to control bending motion of the new DSD mechanism, inverse kinematics problem was analyzed, and equations which give the amount of rotations for each linkage were derived. To verify the validity of the derived equations, experimental works were carried out for the new DSD forceps manipulator.

2A2-L04 反力推定オブザーバに基づくロボット鉗子屈曲時の持上力の推定(手術支援ロボティクス・メカトロニクス(2))

2A2-L04 反力推定オブザーバに基づくロボット鉗子屈曲時の持上力の推定(手術支援ロボティクス・メカトロニクス(2))

Robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: current status and prospects

The most favorable advantage of robotic surgery is the markedly free movement of joint-equipped robotic forceps under 3-dimensional high-vision. Accurate operation makes complex procedures straightforward, and may overcome weak points of the previous thoracoscopic surgery. The efficiency and safety improves with acquiring skills. However, the spread of robotic surgery in the general thoracic surgery field has been delayed compared to those in other fields. The surgical indications include primary lung cancer, thymic diseases, and mediastinal tumors, but it is unclear whether the technical advantages felt by operators are directly connected to merits for patients. Moreover, problems concerning the cost and education have not been solved. Although evidence is insufficient for robotic thoracic surgery, it may be an extension of thoracoscopic surgery, and reports showing its usefulness for primary lung cancer, myasthenia gravis, and thymoma have been accumulating. Advancing robot technology has a possibility to markedly change general thoracic surgery.

Lyapunov-based bilateral teleoperation for surgical robotic forceps system with time varying delay

This paper addresses a new approach of bilateral control for a class of teleoperation systems with time-varying delay and its applications to bilateral teleoperation of robotic surgical device for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). A Lyapunov function-based bilateral control law for one-DOF teleoperation system that is capable of motion scaling in both position and force tracking is proposed so as to guarantee stability of the teleoperation system in the presence of time-varying delay. The proposed bilateral control law is adopted in vertical direction and horizontal direction for bending direction of the multi-DOF robotic forceps, respectively. Then, together with change of coordinates, the proposed bilateral control scheme is extended so that it may become applicable to bilateral control of omnidirectional bending of the multi-DOF robotic forceps manipulator incorporating a new screw-drive mechanism termed double-screw-drive mechanism. Thus, a scalable surgical device for MIS that can provide force feedback to surgeon is presented in this paper. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed bilateral control scheme, experimental works were carried out for the developed robotic forceps teleoperation test-bed for MIS.

2P1-V01 力覚提示デバイスによるロボット鉗子の力覚制御(手術支援ロボティクス・メカトロニクス(2))

In this paper, a force feedback control system for robotic surgery is constructed by using the force reflection type bilateral control. The haptic device 'Omega.7' is used as a master device, and two kinds of robotic forceps are used as a slave device. The DSD forceps is employed as the slave device for bending motion, and the modified RoticulatorTM forceps is employed as the slave device for grasping motion of the jaw. The motion of the robotic forceps tracks a manipulation of the 'Omega.7', and force added to the robotic forceps is reproduced on the 'Omega.7' as the reaction force. Therefore, operator can feel the reaction force in teleoperation. Experimental works were executed to verify the tracking performance of both position and force for the constructed force feedback control system.

2P1-U01 Double-Screw-Drive機構を用いた多自由度ロボット鉗子の動作領域拡張(手術支援ロボティクス・メカトロニクス(2))

Recently, laparoscopic surgery has been performed in abdominal surgery, and a variety of robotic support systems for laparoscopic surgery have been developed. We have developed a multi-DOF robotic forceps manipulator using a novel omnidirectional bending mechanism termed double-screw-drive (DSD) mechanism, so far. However, the tip of this manipulator can move only on the hemisphere surface. In this paper, the DSD mechanism was improved so as to extend a motion space of the tip position, which is termed new DSD mechanism. Kinematics of the new DSD mechanism was analyzed, and equations to control the new DSD mechanism into the given bending posture were derived. In addition, experiment on position tracking control was carried out using a joystick-type manipulator for teleoperation.

Research and Development of Biomechanical Robot for Medical Operation

In the surgical operation, the research and development of the surgical robot that has both safety and effectiveness is needed in consideration of the physical mental strain decrease of the surgeon and the patient. Through the observation of the motion of fish, it has been found that fish swim efficiently using flexibility of pliable fins, giving the actuator the name of flexible oscillating fin propulsion system. The author proposed the application to the realm of healing the elastic vibration wing promotion system. The flexible forceps robot for the surgical operation of a vibrating flexible fin promotion system application was developed.

9I-15 柔軟把持可能な手術鉗子ロボットの開発とモデル解析(GS-3 医療システムとデバイス)

9I-15 柔軟把持可能な手術鉗子ロボットの開発とモデル解析(GS-3 医療システムとデバイス)

Robotic Forceps Manipulator With a Novel Bending Mechanism

This paper proposes a new bending technique with a screwdrive mechanism that allows for omnidirectional bending motion by rotating two linkages, each consisting of a right-handed screw, a universal joint, and a left-handed screw. The new screwdrive mechanism, termed double-screw-drive (DSD) mechanism, is utilized in a robotic forceps manipulator for laparoscopic surgery. A robotic forceps manipulator incorporating the DSD mechanism (DSD forceps) can bend without using wires. Without wires, it has high rigidity, and can bend at 90° in any arbitrary direction. In addition, the gripper of the DSD forceps can perform rotational motion, which is achieved by rotating a third linkage in the DSD mechanism. Opening and closing motions of the gripper are attained by wire actuation. Fundamental experiments examining the bending force and the accuracy of the DSD forceps were conducted, and an analysis of the accuracy was performed. Control of the DSD forceps through a teleoperation system was achieved via a joystick-type manipulator. A servo system was constructed for each linkage and the wire actuation mechanism, and tracking control experiments as well as a suturing experiment were conducted. The results of the experiments showed that the required design specifications were fulfilled. Thus, the validity of the DSD forceps was demonstrated.

0816 ワイヤ弾性を補償するN+1型駆動鉗子の開発(OS30-2:先端治療を目指すエンジニアリング2)

0816 ワイヤ弾性を補償するN+1型駆動鉗子の開発(OS30-2:先端治療を目指すエンジニアリング2)

DOUBLE-SCREW-DRIVE機構を用いた低侵襲手術用多自由度ロボット鉗子(機械力学,計測,自動制御)

DOUBLE-SCREW-DRIVE機構を用いた低侵襲手術用多自由度ロボット鉗子(機械力学,計測,自動制御)