Development of a Surgical Robot with Vision Field Control for Single Port Endoscopic Surgery

Abstract

Recently, robotics systems are focused to assist in Single Port Endoscopic Surgery (SPS). However, the existing system required a manual operation of vision and viewpoint, hindering the surgical task. We proposed a surgical endoscopic robot for SPS with dynamic vision control, the endoscopic view being manipulated by a master controller. The prototype robot consists of a manipulator for vision control, and dual tool tissue manipulators (gripping: 5DOFs, cautery: 3DOFs) can be attached at the tip of sheath manipulator. Feasibility of the robot was demonstrated in vitro experiment. The “cut and vision control” is suitable for precise cutting tasks in risky areas while a “cut by vision control” is effective for rapid macro cutting of tissues. A restriction task was accomplished using a combination of both methods. Moreover, this paper addresses an in vivo experiment. We showed that vision control in the stomach and a cautery task by a cautery tool could be effectively achieved.