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While the components of the MiroSurge system are shown to fulfil the rigid design requirements for robotic telesurgery with force feedback, the system remains versatile, which is supposed to be a key issue for the further development and optimisation.

Purpose -Surgical robotics can be divided into two groups: specialized and versatile systems. Versatile systems can be used in different surgical applications, control architectures and operating room set-ups, but often still based on the adaptation of industrial robots. Space consumption, safety and adequacy of industrial robots in the unstructured and crowded environment of an operating room and in close human robot interaction are at least questionable. The purpose of this paper is to describe the DLR MIRO, a new versatile lightweight robot for surgical applications. Design/methodology/approach -The design approach of the DLR MIRO robot focuses on compact, slim and lightweight design to assist the surgeon directly at the operating table without interference. Significantly reduced accelerated masses (total weight 10 kg) enhance the safety of the system during close interaction with patient and user. Additionally, MIRO integrates torque-sensing capabilities to enable close interaction with human beings in unstructured environments. Findings -A payload of 30 N, optimized kinematics and workspace for surgery enable a broad range of possible applications. Offering position, torque and impedance control on Cartesian and joint level, the robot can be integrated easily into telepresence (e.g. endoscopic surgery), autonomous or soft robotics applications, with one or multiple arms. Originality/value -This paper considers lightweight and compact design as important design issues in robotic assistance systems for surgery.

This paper presents a novel system for accurate placement of pedicle screws. The system consists of a new light-weight (<10 kg), kinematically redundant, and fully torque controlled robot. Additionally, the pose of the robot tool-center point is tracked by an optical navigation system, serving as an external reference source. Therefore, it is possible to measure and to compensate deviations between the intraoperative and the preoperatively planned pose. The robotic arm itself is impedance controlled. This allows for a new intuitive manmachine-interface as the joint units are equipped with torque sensors: the robot can be moved just by pulling/pushing its structure. The surgeon has full control of the robot at every step of the intervention. The hand-eye-coordination problems known from manual pedicle screw placement can be omitted.

Abstract-This video presents the in-house developed DLR MiroSurge robotic system for surgery. As shown, the system is suitable for both minimally invasive and open surgery. Essential part of the system is the MIRO robot: The soft robotics feature enables intuitive interaction with the robot. In the presented minimally invasive robotic setup three MIROs guide an endoscopic stereo camera and two endoscopic instruments with force feedback sensors. The master console for teleoperation consists of an autostereoscopic monitor and force reflecting input devices for both hands. Versatility is shown with two additional applications: For assistance in manual minimally invasive surgery a MIRO robot automatically guides the endoscope such that the surgical instrument is always in view. In a biopsy application the MIRO robot is positioning the needle with navigation system support.