Remote center of motion (RCM) mechanisms are often used in surgical robots for laparoscopic surgery. In this paper, a RCM mechanism for holding a robotic forceps that facilitates adjustment using a flexible structure is proposed. The flexible structure is designed and manufactured with polypropylene-like resin material using a three-dimensional (3D) printer. Super elastic NI-Ti rods are inserted in the structure to have elasticity for bending and have rigidity for twisting. The structure achieves pitch motion around the remote center with two pneumatic cylinders. One cylinder drives the position and the other cylinder controls the bending radius of the structure. Therefore, the location of the remote center can be variable. This allows easier adjustment of the remote center before or during operation. The holder robot including the mechanism has four degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) in total, consisting of the pitch, a rotation around yaw axis, a translation in the direction of forceps insertion and a rotation of the forceps. Pneumatic rotary actuators are used for rotations and a cylinder is used for the translational motion. The model of the flexible structure is derived experimentally to design a controller for the pitch motion. A pneumatically driven robotic forceps is mounted on the holder to construct a master–slave control system. Experimental results show that the proposed control law achieves the desired rotational pitch motion. We compare the holder with a rigid link RCM holder and confirm the robustness of the proposed holder for variable remote center. Finally, the effectiveness of the system is confirmed with suturing tasks using a phantom tissue.
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June 2018
Research-Article
Surgical Robot With Variable Remote Center of Motion Mechanism Using Flexible Structure
Sho Yoshida,
Sho Yoshida
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: yoshida.sho.yl@gmail.com
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: yoshida.sho.yl@gmail.com
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Takahiro Kanno,
Takahiro Kanno
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kanno.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kanno.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
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Kenji Kawashima
Kenji Kawashima
Professor
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kkawa.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kkawa.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
Search for other works by this author on:
Sho Yoshida
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: yoshida.sho.yl@gmail.com
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: yoshida.sho.yl@gmail.com
Takahiro Kanno
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kanno.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kanno.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
Kenji Kawashima
Professor
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kkawa.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
e-mail: kkawa.bmc@tmd.ac.jp
Contributed by the Mechanisms and Robotics Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANISMS AND ROBOTICS. Manuscript received July 5, 2017; final manuscript received January 25, 2018; published online April 5, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Jian S. Dai.
J. Mechanisms Robotics. Jun 2018, 10(3): 031011 (8 pages)
Published Online: April 5, 2018
Article history
Received:
July 5, 2017
Revised:
January 25, 2018
Citation
Yoshida, S., Kanno, T., and Kawashima, K. (April 5, 2018). "Surgical Robot With Variable Remote Center of Motion Mechanism Using Flexible Structure." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. June 2018; 10(3): 031011. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4039396
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