Development of Autonomous Robotic Cataract Surgery Device

Abstract

The current rate of incidence of cataracts is increasing faster than treatment capacity, and an autonomous robotic system is proposed to mitigate this by carrying out cataract surgeries. The robot is composed of a three actuator RPS parallel mechanism in series with an actuated rail mounted roller that moves around the eye, and is designed to perform a simplified version of the extracapsular cataract surgery procedure autonomously. The majority of the design work has been completed, and it is projected that the system will have a tool accuracy of 0.167 mm, 0.141 mm, and 0.290 mm in the x, y, and z directions, respectively. Such accuracies are within the acceptable errors of 1.77mm in the x and y directions of the horizontal plane, as well as 1.139 mm in the vertical z direction. Tracking of the tool when moving at 2 mm/s should give increments of 0.08 mm per frame, ensuring constant visual feedback. Future work will involve completing construction and testing of the device, as well as adding the capability to perform a more comprehensive surgical procedure if time allows.

Review on challenges for robotic eye surgery; surgical systems, technologies, cost‐effectiveness, and controllers

“…This design enables the robot to reach all parts of the eye needed to perform cataract surgery. The study showed that sub‐millimetre accuracy is sufficient for cataract surgery 69 …”

A new 7-degree-of-freedom 2-PRRRRR parallel remote center-of-motion robot for eye surgery

“…It is reported that a precision of 500 microns about an RCM point on the surface of the incision are required for robot-assisted cataract surgery [16]. Considering the potential applications on vitreoretinal surgery, the robot proposed in the herein paper aims to achieve a precision of 10 microns [17].…”