A multi‐module soft robotic arm with soft actuator for minimally invasive surgery

Abstract

Background Compared to traditional rigid robotic arms, soft robotic arms are flexible, environmentally adaptable and biocompatible. Recently, most minimally invasive cardiac procedures still rely on traditional rigid surgical tools. However, rigid tools lack sufficient bending angles, which are high‐risk in terms of contact with tissues and organs. Methods A soft robotic arm with multiple degrees of freedom was designed to repair atrial septal defects in cardiac surgery. The developed multi‐module soft robotic arm consists of four different units, including a bending unit, a turning unit, a stretching unit and gripper units. The three movement units can reach the specified position, and the gripper units can hold a surgical tool stably, such as a suture needle in cardiac surgery. Results A cardiac surgery to repair an atrial septal defect has been completed, validating the reliability and functionality of the developed multi‐module soft robotic arm. Conclusions The multi‐module flexible soft robotic arm for minimally invasive surgery proposed in this paper can reach the designated surgical area during surgery to repair Atrial Septal Defects. Meanwhile, the design of the actuator of the robot arm was used a completely soft silicone material replacing the rigid material, which releases the contact trauma of the organs during the surgery.

Bio-inspired soft robot with varied localized stiffness

“…When a hose is inserted into the heart from the outside of the human body, it must have varying degrees of stiffness in different sections to avoid organ obstruction and successfully reach the target surgical site in the heart. This is why the soft robotic arm developed by Yin Zhang et al is expected to be able to handle minimally invasive cardiac surgery in the future [9]. The hook-back effect requires a small radius of curvature at the tip, while a larger radius at the root is necessary for unobstructed passage into and out of the hose.…”

Review on challenges for robotic eye surgery; surgical systems, technologies, cost‐effectiveness, and controllers

“…101 The piezoelectric actuators were built by piezoceramics and are a type of common actuator in robotic surgery. 101 A micro positioning piezoelectric actuator has been described, and a Long Short-Term Memory artificial neural network algorithm has been designed to control these actuators in robotic eye surgery. 101 The cable-driven mechanism, flexible fluidic, smart material, and magnetic actuators have been reviewed, and their advantages and disadvantages have been discussed 98 and are summarised with SMA actuators in Table 4.…”

“…Piezoceramics are a type of smart material that expand or contract when an electrical voltage is applied. 101 The piezoelectric actuators were built by piezoceramics and are a type of common actuator in robotic surgery. 101 A micro positioning piezoelectric actuator has been described, and a Long Short-Term Memory artificial neural network algorithm has been designed to control these actuators in robotic eye surgery.…”

Integrated and Intelligent Soft Robots

“…However, they lack the adaptability and multifunctionality of natural human counterparts because of their intrinsically rigid structure [1,2]. They are unable to deform flexibly in different environments or to manipulate objects with diverse shapes and hardness [3][4][5][6]. They are even considered to be unsafe when interacting with human because their hard materials are likely to cause damages should unexpected impacting or squeezing occur [7].…”