Reconfigurable Cable-Driven Parallel Robot with Adjustable Workspace Towards Positioning in Neurosurgery: A Preliminary Design

摘要

There still exist limitations in current robotic system for positioning in neurosurgery, such as bulky size and complex mechanism. To address this issue, a novel reconfigurable cable-driven parallel robot with adjustable workspace is proposed. This robot is composed of three rods and six cables with guiding tubes to achieve four degrees of freedom (DOFs). The reduced inertia/weight of the terminal and disturbance of the workspace are achieved, which are beneficial for surgeons to operate dexterously. The rods as frame can be freely fixed on the skull based on the surgical requirements. The workspace is adjustable according to the configuration of the frame. In this paper, the design of the robot is presented, including the mechanical design, the kinematics, the workspace, and the operation procedure. The simulation in Adams software is conducted to evaluation the performance of the robot. A simplified prototype is designed and fabricated to demonstrate the configuration of the robot.