Design of an innovative robotic surgical instrument for circular stapling

Esophageal cancer remains a highly aggressive malignancy with low survival rates, requiring advanced surgical interventions like esophagectomy. Traditional manual techniques, including circular staplers, face challenges such as limited precision, prolonged recovery times, and complications like leaks and tissue misalignment. This paper presents a novel robotic circular stapler designed to enhance the dexterity in confined spaces, improve tissue alignment, and reduce post-operative risks. Integrated with a cognitive robot that serves as a surgeon's assistant, the surgical stapler uses three actuators to perform anvil motion, cutter/stapler motion and allows a 75-degree bending of the cartridge (distal tip). Kinematic analysis is used to compute the stapler tip's position, ensuring synchronization with a robotic system.

A Pillbug-Inspired Morphing Mechanism Covered with Sliding Shells

This research proposes a novel morphing structure with shells inspired by the movement of pillbugs. Instead of the pillbug body, a loopcoupled mechanism based on slider-crank mechanisms is utilized to achieve the rolling up and spreading motion. This mechanism precisely imitates three distinct curves that mimic the shape morphing of a pillbug. To decrease the degree-of-freedom (DOF) of the mechanism to one, scissor mechanisms are added. 3D curved shells are then attached to the tracer points of the morphing mechanism to safeguard it from attacks while allowing it to roll. Through type and dimensional synthesis, a complete system that includes shells and an underlying morphing mechanism is developed. A 3D model is created and tested to demonstrate the proposed system's shape-changing capability. Lastly, a robot with two modes is developed based on the proposed mechanism, which can curl up to roll down hills and can spread to move in a straight line via wheels.

An analysis of higher-order kinematics formalisms for an innovative surgical parallel robot

The paper presents a novel modular hybrid parallel robot for pancreatic surgery and its higher-order kinematics derived based on various formalisms. The classical vector, homogeneous transformation matrices and dual quaternion approaches are studied for the kinematic functions using both classical differentiation and multidual algebra. The algorithms for inverse kinematics for all three studied formalisms are presented for both differentiation and multidual algebra approaches. Furthermore, these algorithms are compared based on numerical stability, execution times and number and type of mathematical functions and operators contained in each algorithm. A statistical analysis shows that there is significant improvement in execution time for the algorithms implemented using multidual algebra, while the numerical stability is appropriate for all algorithms derived based on differentiation and multidual algebra. While the implementation of the kinematic algorithms using multidual algebra shows positive results when benchmarked on a standard PC, further work is required to evaluate the multidual algorithms on hardware/software used for the modular parallel robot command and control.

An innovative mixed reality approach for Robotics Surgery

Robotic-assisted procedures offer numerous advantages over traditional approaches, including improved dexterity, reduced fatigue, minimized trauma, and superior outcomes. However, the main challenge of these systems remains the poor visualization and perception of the surgical field. The goal of this paper is to provide an innovative approach concerning an application able to improve the surgical procedures offering assistance in both preplanning and intraoperative steps of the surgery. The system has been designed to offer a better understanding of the patient through techniques that provide medical images visualization, 3D anatomical structures perception and robotic planning. The application was designed to be intuitive and user friendly, providing an augmented reality experience through the Hololens 2 device. It was tested in laboratory conditions, yielding positive results.

Enhancing Otological Surgery: Co-Designing a Parallel Robot with Surgeon Input

This work presents the development of a parallel manipulator used for otological surgery from the perspective of co-design. Co-design refers to the simultaneous involvement of the end-users (surgeons), stakeholders (designers, ergonomic experts, manufacturers), and experts from the fields of optimization and mechanisms. The role of each member is discussed in detail and the interactions between the stakeholders are presented. Co-design facilitates a reduction in the parameter space considered during mechanism optimization, leading to a more efficient design process. Additionally, the co-design principles help avoid unforeseen errors and help in quicker adaptation of the proposed solution.

Continuous-Time Robust Control for Cancer Treatment Robots

The control system in surgical robots must ensure patient safety and real time control. As such, all the uncertainties which could appear should be considered into an extended model of the plant. After such an uncertain plant is formed, an adequate controller which ensures a minimum set of performances for each situation should be computed. As such, the continuous-time robust control paradigm is suitable for such scenarios. However, the problem is generally solved only for linear and time invariant plants. The main focus of the current paper is to include m-link serial surgical robots into Robust Control Framework by considering all nonlinearities as uncertainties. Moreover, the paper studies an incipient problem of numerical implementation of such control structures.

The control architecture of a spherical robot for Minimally Invasive Surgery

Control systems used in Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) play a crucial role in ensuring preci-sion and safety throughout procedures. This paper presents a control architecture developed for a robotic system designed for MIS operations. The modular structure of the control system allows for compatibility with a range of procedures in abdominal and thoracic regions. The proposed control system, employing the master-slave concept, is presented alongside the experimental model. Functional validation is obtained by performing a Siemens NX simulation and comparing the results with several experimental runs using the experimental model of the robot. With its compact size and stiffness, the system holds promise for integration with other robotic systems. Future efforts will be dedicated to exploring and optimizing this potential collaboration to enhance the overall capabilities of robotic-assisted surgery.

Comparison of robot morphologies and base positioning for welding applications

This article undertakes a comprehensive examination of two distinct robot morphologies: the PUMA-type arm (Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly) and the UR-type robot (Universal Robots). The primary aim of this comparative analysis is to assess their respective performances within the specialized domain of welding, focusing on predefined industrial application scenarios. These scenarios encompass a range of geometrical components earmarked for welding, along with specified welding paths, spatial constraints, and welding methodologies reflective of real-world scenarios encountered by manual welders. The case studies presented in this research serve as illustrative examples of Weez-U Welding practices, providing insights into the practical implications of employing different robot morphologies. Moreover, this study distinguishes between various base positions for the robot, thereby aiding welders in selecting the optimal base placement aligned with their specific welding objectives. By offering such insights, this research facilitates the selection of the most suitable architecture for this particular range of trajectories, thus optimizing welding efficiency and effectiveness. A departure from conventional methodologies, this study goes beyond merely considering singularities and also delves into the analysis of collisions between the robot and its environment, contingent upon the robot's posture. This holistic approach offers a more nuanced understanding of the challenges and considerations inherent in deploying robotic welding systems, providing valuable insights for practitioners and researchers alike in the field of robotic welding technology.

Kinematic analysis of a parallel robot for minimally invasive surgery

The paper presents the kinematic modelling for the coupled motion of a 6-DOF surgical parallel robot PARA-SILSROB which guides a mobile platform carrying the surgical instruments, and the actuators of the sub-modules which hold these tools. To increase the surgical procedure safety, a closed form solution for the kinematic model is derived and then, the forward and inverse kinematic models for the mobile orientation platform are obtained. The kinematic models are used in numerical simulations for the reorientation of the endoscopic camera, which imposes an automated compensatory motion from the active instruments' mod-ules.

Motion Prediction with Gaussian Processes for Safe Human-Robot Interaction in Virtual Environments

Humans use collaborative robots as tools for accomplishing various tasks. The interaction between humans and robots happens in tight shared workspaces. However, these machines must be safe to operate alongside humans to minimize the risk of accidental collisions. Ensuring safety imposes many constraints, such as reduced torque and velocity limits during operation, thus increasing the time to accomplish many tasks. However, for applications such as using collaborative robots as haptic interfaces with intermittent contacts for virtual reality applications, speed limitations result in poor user experiences. This research aims to improve the efficiency of a collaborative robot while improving the safety of the human user. We used Gaussian process models to predict human hand motion and developed strategies for human intention detection based on hand motion and gaze to improve the time for the robot and human security in a virtual environment. We then studied the effect of prediction. Results from comparisons show that the prediction models improved the robot time by 3\% and safety by 17\%. When used alongside gaze, prediction with Gaussian process models resulted in an improvement of the robot time by 2\% and the safety by 13\%.