A three-limb teleoperated robotic system with foot control for flexible endoscopic surgery
File(s)HuangYP2021ABME.pdf (6.93 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Flexible endoscopy requires a lot of skill to manipulate both the endoscope and the associated instruments. In most robotic flexible endoscopic systems, the endoscope and instruments are controlled separately by two operators, which may result in communication errors and inefficient operation. Our solution is to enable the surgeon to control both the endoscope and the instruments. Here, we present a novel tele-operation robotic endoscopic system commanded by one operator using the continuous and simultaneous movements of their two hands and one foot. This 13-degree-of-freedom (DoF) system integrates a foot-controlled robotic flexible endoscope and two hand-controlled robotic endoscopic instruments, a robotic grasper and a robotic cauterizing hook. A dedicated foot-interface transfers the natural foot movements to the 4-DoF movements of the endoscope while two other commercial hand interfaces map the movements of the two hands to the two instruments individually. An ex-vivo experiment was carried out by six subjects without surgical experience, where the simultaneous control with foot and hands was compared with a sequential clutch-based hand control. The participants could successfully teleoperate the endoscope and the two instruments to cut the tissues at scattered target areas in a porcine stomach. Foot control yielded 43.7% faster task completion and required less mental effort as compared to the clutch-based hand control scheme, which proves the concept of three-limb tele-operation surgery and the developed flexible endoscopic system.
Date Issued
2021-04-08
Date Acceptance
2021-03-08
Citation
Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2021, 49, pp.2282-2296
ISSN
0090-6964
Publisher
Springer
Start Page
2282
End Page
2296
Journal / Book Title
Annals of Biomedical Engineering
Volume
49
Copyright Statement
© 2021 Biomedical Engineering Society. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-021-02766-3
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000638017700001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
EP/R026092/1
899626
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Biomedical
Engineering
Three-tools operation
Foot control
Teleoperation
Endoscope manipulation
Robot-assisted surgery
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-04-08