Bed-mounted laparoscopic surgical robot system with novel positioning arm mechanism.

BACKGROUND: Commercialised laparoscopic surgical robotic systems require a large operating room and can only be used in large hospitals. If the robotic system is to be used in a small- or medium-sized hospital, the occupied volume must be reduced further. METHODS: In this paper, we propose a bed-mounted system that can be installed in a general operating room. Furthermore, we proposed a novel positioning arm suitable for a bed-mounted surgical robot system. RESULTS: The surgical possibility of the proposed bed-mounted system has been verified. Furthermore, the surgical possibility of the proposed system was confirmed using in vivo animal experiments. CONCLUSIONS: A bed-mounted laparoscopic robotic system and a novel positioning arm was proposed. The study's ultimate goal is to enable robotic surgery in small and medium-sized hospitals by introducing the proposed bed-mounted laparoscopic robot system, allowing many people to receive high-quality medical services.

A novel microsurgery robot mechanism with mechanical motion scalability for intraocular and reconstructive surgery.

BACKGROUND: Intraocular surgery and reconstructive surgery are challenging microsurgery procedures that require two types of motion: precise motion and larger motion. To effectively perform the requisite motion using a robot, it is necessary to develop a manipulator that can adjust the scale of motion between precise motion and less precise, yet larger motion. AIMS: In this paper, we propose a novel microsurgery robot using the dual delta structure (DDS) to mechanically scale the motion to seamlessly adjust between precise and larger motion. MATERIALS & METHODS: The DDS forms a lever mechanism that enables the motion scaling at the end-effector using two delta platforms. Seamless scale adjustment enables the robot to effectively perform various surgical moves. RESULTS: A prototype robot system was developed to validate the effectiveness of the DDS. The experiment results in various scale settings validated the scaling mechanism of the DDS. CONCLUSION: Through a graphical simulation and measurement experiment, the robot's precision level and attainable workspace has been confirmed adequate for intraocular and reconstructive surgery.