Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : September 11, 2022 - September 14, 2022
In this study, we proposed a rotation mechanism for controlling the posture around the axis of a flexible surgical tool for treatment deep inside the body. The mechanism includes crown gears and is driven by wire. In this method, the flexible forceps are fixed to the crown gear rotating mechanism placed at the tip of a sheath device, and the crown gear rotating mechanism is driven by the wire. The rotation mechanism can rotate infinitely. We designed and prototyped a crown gear push-up mechanism and a wire pulling mechanism, and evaluated the rotation angle of the crown gear rotation mechanism. The wire pulling mechanism was actuated by a motor and the rotation angle was measured a rotary potentiometer. As the result of the rotation angle evaluation experiment, 324° rotation was confirmed clockwise and 90° rotation was confirmed counterclockwise. In this paper, we confirmed that the rotation around the axis of a flexible surgical tool is possible within the range of ±90°.
