A Low-Cost Teleoperable Surgical Robot with a Macro-Micro Structure and a Continuum Tip for Open-Source Research

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-cost, open-source, tendon-driven continuum surgical robot capable of teleoperation with macro-scale robotic arms, validated through simulated biopsies and accessible for research and development.

Contribution

It presents a novel, affordable, and modifiable continuum manipulator with open-source software and hardware designs for minimally invasive surgery research.

Findings

Successful teleoperation with electromagnetic tracking

Effective integration with UR5e robotic arm

Validated in simulated tumor biopsy procedures

Abstract

Surgical robotic systems equipped with microscale, high-dexterity manipulators have shown promising results in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). One barrier to the widespread adoption of such systems is the prohibitive cost of research and development efforts using current state-of-the-art equipment. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a low-cost and modifiable tendon-driven continuum manipulator for MIS applications. The device is capable of being teleoperated in conjunction with a macro-scale six-axis robotic arm using a haptic stylus. Its control software incorporates and extends freely available and open-source software packages. For verification, we perform teleoperation trials on the proposed continuum manipulator using an electromagnetic tracker. We then integrate the manipulator with a UR5e robotic arm. A series of simulated tumour biopsies were conducted using the integrated robotic system and an anatomical model (phantom), validating its potential efficacy in MIS applications. The complete source code, CAD files for all additively manufactured components, a parts list for the manipulator, and a demonstration video of the proposed system are made available in this work.