Analysis and control of tendon-sheath actuation mechanism for a novel surgical robotic system

Abstract

Current endoscopic tools are inserted along the body of a flexible endoscope to access the tissue of interest in the patient. Actuated manually by wire ropes at the proximal end, the tool is able to perform simple grasping and cutting tasks. However, these tools possess low number of Degrees of Freedom (DOF) and thus lack the dexterity and maneuverability to perform complicated tasks, like retraction and suturing of tissue, which are required in Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) and Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD). A multi DOFs master and slave robotic system is therefore envisaged to better assist the endoscopist in performing these complicated procedures.