Primary Experimental Feedback on a Co-manipulated Robotic System for Assisted Cervical Surgery

Robotic-assisted surgery has emerged as a promising approach to improve surgical ergonomics, precision, and workflow efficiency, particularly in complex procedures such as cervical spine surgery. In this study, we evaluate the performance of a collaborative robotic system designed to assist surgeons in drilling tasks by assessing its accuracy in executing predefined trajectories. A total of 14 drillings were performed by eight experienced cervical surgeons, utilizing a robotic-assisted setup aimed at ensuring stability and alignment. The primary objective of this study is to quantify the deviations in the position and orientation of the drilling tool relative to the planned trajectory, providing insights into the system's reliability and potential impact on clinical outcomes. While the primary function of robotic assistance in surgery is to enhance surgeon comfort and procedural guidance rather than solely optimizing precision, understanding the system's accuracy remains crucial for its effective integration into surgical practices part of this primary experimental feedback, the study offers an in-depth analysis of the co-manipulated robotic system's performance, focusing on the experimental setup and error evaluation methods. The findings of this study will contribute to the ongoing development of robotic-assisted cervical surgery, highlighting both its advantages and areas for improvement in achieving safer and more efficient surgical workflows

Feasible Static Workspace Optimization of Tendon Driven Continuum Robot based on Euclidean norm

This paper focuses on the optimal design of a tendon-driven continuum robot (TDCR) based on its feasible static workspace (FSW). The TDCR under consideration is a two-segment robot driven by eight tendons, with four tendon actuators per segment. Tendon forces are treated as design variables, while the feasible static workspace (FSW) serves as the optimization objective. To determine the robot's feasible static workspace, a genetic algorithm optimization approach is employed to maximize a Euclidian norm of the TDCR's tip position over the workspace. During the simulations, the robot is subjected to external loads, including torques and forces. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in identifying optimal tendon forces to maximize the feasible static workspace, even under the influence of external forces and torques.

A five-bar mechanism to assist finger flexion-extension movement: system implementation

The lack of specialized personnel and assistive technology to assist in rehabilitation therapies is one of the challenges facing the health sector today, and it is projected to increase. For researchers and engineers, it represents an opportunity to innovate and develop devices that improve and optimize rehabilitation services for the benefit of society. Among the different types of injuries, hand injuries occur most frequently. These injuries require a rehabilitation process in order for the hand to regain its functionality. This article presents the fabrication and instrumentation of an end-effector prototype, based on a five-bar configuration, for finger rehabilitation that executes a natural flexion-extension movement. The dimensions were obtained through the gradient method optimization and evaluated through Matlab. Experimental tests were carried out to demonstrate the prototype's functionality and the effectiveness of a five-bar mechanism acting in a vertical plane, where gravity influences the mechanism's performance. Position control using fifth-order polynomials with via points was implemented in the joint space. The design of the end-effector was also evaluated by performing a theoretical comparison, calculated as a function of a real flexion-extension trajectory of the fingers and the angle of rotation obtained through an IMU. As a result, controlling the two degrees of freedom of the mechanism at several points of the trajectory assures the end-effector trajectory and therefore the fingers' range of motion, which helps for full patient recovery.

Design and construction of a wireless robot that simulates head movements in cone beam computed tomography imaging

One of the major challenges in the science of maxillofacial radiology imaging is the various artifacts created in images taken by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging systems. Among these artifacts, motion artifact, which is created by the patient, has adverse effects on image quality. In this paper, according to the conditions and limitations of the CBCT imaging room, the goal is the design and development of a cable-driven parallel robot to create repeatable movements of a dry skull inside a CBCT scanner for studying motion artifacts and building up reference datasets with motion artifacts. The proposed robot allows a dry skull to execute motions, which were selected on the basis of clinical evidence, with 3-degrees of freedom during imaging in synchronous manner with the radiation beam. The kinematic model of the robot is presented to investigate and describe the correlation between the amount of motion and the pulse width applied to DC motors. This robot can be controlled by the user through a smartphone or laptop wirelessly via a Wi-Fi connection. Using wireless communication protects the user from harmful radiation during robot driving and functioning. The results show that the designed robot has a reproducibility above 95% in performing various movements.