A single port laparoscopic surgery robot with high force transmission and a large workspace

Abstract

Compared to wire- or link-driven mechanisms, the plate-spring mechanism provided surpassing force transmission, with >14 N force transmission achieved, which enables most laparoscopic surgery with single port access. In addition, the high degree of freedom structure of the proposed design permitted an expanded workspace, which might be the most competitive characteristic among the single port systems reported to date.

Development of a novel robotic platform with controllable stiffness manipulation arms for laparoendoscopic single‐site surgery (LESS)

“…Considering the clinical requirements, a 5 N force on the tip of each instrument arm as the maximum force is required during a typical surgical task . From the payload capability experiment, our manipulation arm has a payload capability of 8 N in the rigid status to provide comparable operation force, which meets the clinical requirement for surgical tasks.…”

“…Some cable‐driven articulated manipulation arms used in LESS applications achieved high force transmission and large workspace, such as the robotic manipulator with a stackable 4‐bar linkage, a 6‐DoF surgical instrument with zero‐hysteresis, an active hybrid parallel robot based on a spherical parallel mechanism, a robotic endolumnical surgical system ViaCath with actuated joint section (AJS), and a plate‐spring‐driven mechanism . These robotic manipulators have the advantages of a compact structure, accurate motion, and satisfactory payload capability, but limited flexibility.…”

“…Some cable-driven articulated manipulation arms used in LESS applications achieved high force transmission and large workspace, such as the robotic manipulator with a stackable 4-bar linkage, 12 a 6-DoF surgical instrument with zero-hysteresis, 13 an active hybrid parallel robot based on a spherical parallel mechanism, 14 a robotic endolumnical surgical system ViaCath with actuated joint section (AJS), 15 and a plate-spring-driven mechanism. 16 These robotic manipulators have the advantages of a compact structure, accurate motion, and satisfactory payload capability, but limited flexibility. Besides the cable-driven mechanism, equipping with an on-board micro-motor on each joint is another actuation mechanism for articulated manipulation arms with a compact external device, such as i-Snake robot with universal articulated joints and on-board micromotors, 8 compact teleoperated bimanual robot system SPRINT, 7 and a 4-DoF manipulation arm with onboard motors.…”

Robotics: Will They Give a New Kick to Single-site Surgery?

“…They enter the body in an ''I'' configuration from a single incision. Once inside the body, they transform into a Y shape by opening two existing arms [7]. This concept prevents possible arm collisions during surgery, expands the effective workspace, and reduces the overall size including the incision diameter.…”

“…Therefore, several groups are working on the design of new LESS robots. The plate-spring mechanismbased laparoscopic surgery robot (PLAS) is an example [7]. It is characterised by its plate-spring drive and seems to be outstanding in regard to its force transmission and workspace volume.…”