CONTROL OF IN VIVO ROBOTS IN WORK SPACE FOR BIOPSY

Abstract

The growth of medical robotics since the mid-1980s has been striking. Medical robotics is ultimately an application-driven research field. Although the development of medical robotic systems requires significant innovation and can lead to very real, fundamental advances in technology, medical robots must provide measurable and significant advantages if they are to be widely accepted and deployed. Robotic surgery is in its infancy. Many obstacles and disadvantages will be resolved in time and no doubt many other questions will arise. Many of current advantages in robotic assisted surgery ensure its continued development and expansion. Endoscopy is a minimally invasive surgical technique used to examine and operate in the gastrointestinal tract. The tools like biopsy tool lack fine motion control and dexterity. In this report, background in endoscopy is presented along with an explanation of the problems experienced by surgeons. An insertion mechanism for in vivo robot into stomach has been proposed. The mechanism is based on inchworm locomotion mechanism principle. Trajectory control of in vivo robot in work space and trajectory/force control of the in vivo robot tip when it interacts with tissue in work space is modeled using Bond Graph modeling technique. These controls were simulated in SYMBOLS Shakti, Bond Graph modeling software. Simulations are presented with illustrations. An actuation mechanism for the in vivo robot joints is proposed, in which. the actuators are kept outside the body and the joints are actuated through wires. Wire actuation mechanism is demonstrated experimentally by fabricating a prototype. Kinematic analysis of the wire actuation mechanism is performed and validated