A remote center of motion robotic arm for computer assisted surgery

Abstract

SummaryWe have designed a robotic arm based on a double parallel four bar linkage to act as an assistant in minimally invasive surgical procedures. The remote center of motion (RCM) geometry of the robot arm kinematically constraints the robot motion such that minimal translation of an instrument held by the robot takes place at the entry portal into the patientApos;s body. In addition to the two rotational degrees of freedom comprising the RCM arm, distal translation and rotation are provided to manoeuver the instrument within the patient's body about an axis coincident with the RCM. An XYZ translation stage located proximal to the RCM arm provides positioning capability to establish the RCM location relative to the patients anatomy. An electronics set capable of controlling the system, as well as performing a series of safety checks to verify correct system operation, has also been designed and constructed. The robot is capable of precise positional motion. Repeatability in the ±10 micron range is demonstrated. The complete robotic system consists of the robot hardware and an IBM PC-AT based servo controller connected via a custom shared memory link to a host IBM PS/2. For laparoscopic applications, the PS/2 includes an image capture board to capture and process video camera images. A camera rotation stage has also been designed for this application. We have successfully demonstrated this system as an assistant in a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Further applications for this system involving active tissue manipulation are under development.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the elderly

“…3) contains two dexterous (four degrees of freedom), slave manipulators which use the remote center-of-motion principle [9] and are compatible with standard laparoscopic 10-mm trocars and a stereoendoscope. The slave manipulators replicate the movements of the master control handles through electromechanical linkages.…”

Endocavity Ultrasound Probe Manipulators

“…The robots include remote center of motion (RCM) mechanisms, characteristic of medical robots [4], [13]–[16]. The RCM mechanism allows a medical instrument to pivot about a fulcrum point that is located remotely from the mechanism.…”

“…The RCM module is represented in its folded position (the parallelogram it describes is collapsed). Achieving this folded position has been a novelty of our belt-drive RCM mechanism [18], [19], [21], and its advantage is a much more compact structure than classic bar-type RCMs which cannot be folded [13]. …”

A Steady-Hand Robotic System for Microsurgical Augmentation

“…There has also been some work (e.g., [27]) on control of robots working cooperatively with humans to carry loads and do other gross motor tasks relevant for construction and similar applications. Within the area of surgery, we have long used "hands on" guiding of robots for positioning within the operating room (e.g., in the "Robodoc" [28][29][30] hip replacement surgery system and in the JHU/IBM LARS system [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] for endoscopic surgery). Davies et.…”