Development of an in vivo visual robot system with a magnetic anchoring mechanism and a lens cleaning mechanism for laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS).

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Surgical robot systems which can significantly improve surgical procedures have been widely used in laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS). For a relative complex surgical procedure, the development of an in vivo visual robot system for LESS can effectively improve the visualization for surgical robot systems. METHODS: In this work, an in vivo visual robot system with a new mechanism for LESS was investigated. A finite element method (FEM) analysis was carried out to ensure the safety of the in vivo visual robot during the movement, which was the most important concern for surgical purposes. A master-slave control strategy was adopted, in which the control model was established by off-line experiments. RESULTS: The in vivo visual robot system was verified by using a phantom box. The experiment results show that the robot system can successfully realize the expected functionalities and meet the demands of LESS. CONCLUSION: The experiment results indicate that the in vivo visual robot with high manipulability has great potential in clinical application.