2011 Volume 5 Issue 5 Pages 1094-1105
Current surgical robotic systems have shown that the robotic approach bring many benefits to both surgeons and patients. However, these systems still need further improvements to increase dexterity and to facilitate a cost-effective integration in any standard operating room. With this goal, we propose a compact and accurate positioning mechanism, called Dionis. This spatial hybrid mechanism based on a parallel kinematics provides three rotations and one translation for single incision laparoscopy. The corresponding axes intersect at a remote center of motion that is coincident with the entry point into the patient's abdominal cavity. In addition, the compact design of the Dionis robot allows direct access to the patient, without removing the robotic system. This, besides saving precious space in the operating room, improves safety over existing solutions. This article presents the conceptual design of the Dionis robot followed by its workspace and dynamic analysis. The required maximum speed and maximum torque of the actuators are obtained for a set of typical trajectories to chose the most appropriate actuators. The final design and a summary of the control architecture are as well described.
