Advancement of Flexible Robot Technologies for Endoluminal Surgeries

Abstract

The trend of achieving minimal invasiveness in surgeries and recent technological advances in robotics have resulted in the emergence of flexible surgical robots. Such flexible robots can reach a surgical site via narrow and tortuous pathways, extending the reach of robotic surgery and potentially reducing the incision size. This review covers the key technical issues associated with flexible surgical robotics and introduces emerging flexible surgical robot systems organized according to their target applications in the endoluminal surgical field. Furthermore, the challenges and recent advancements in manipulator design, modeling, and control as well as the shape and force sensing of flexible robots are presented as key technical issues. Furthermore, the technical features and clinical values of emerging flexible surgical robot systems are introduced with their medical applications.