Department of Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5126, USA.
Surg Endosc. 2011 Oct;25(10):3453-8. doi: 10.1007/s00464-011-1687-0. Epub 2011 Apr 13.
The aim of this study was to develop a multidexterous robot capable of generating the required forces and speeds to perform surgical tasks intra-abdominally. Current laparoscopic surgical robots are expensive, bulky, and fundamentally constrained by a small entry incision. A new approach to minimally invasive surgery places the robot completely within the patient. Miniature in vivo robots may allow surgeons to overcome current laparoscopic constraints such as dexterity, orientation, and visualization.
A collaborative research group from the Department of Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the College of Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln designed and built a surgical robot prototype capable of performing specific surgical tasks within the peritoneal cavity.
The basic robotic design consists of two arms each connected to a central body. Each arm has three degrees of freedom and rotational shoulder and elbow joints. This combination allows a surgeon to grasp, manipulate, cauterize, and perform intracorporeal suturing. The robot's workspace is a hollow hemisphere with an inner radius of 75 mm and an outer radius of 205 mm. Its versatility was demonstrated in four procedures performed in a porcine model: cholecystectomy, partial colectomy, abdominal exploration, and intracorporeal suturing.
Miniature in vivo robots have the potential to address the limitations of using articulated instrumentation to perform advanced laparoscopic surgical procedures. Once inserted into the peritoneal cavity, the robot provides a stable platform for visualization with sufficient dexterity and speed to perform surgical tasks from multiple orientations and workspaces.
本研究旨在开发一种多灵活度机器人，以产生在腹腔内执行手术任务所需的力和速度。目前的腹腔镜手术机器人昂贵、庞大，并且受到小切口的根本限制。一种新的微创外科方法将机器人完全置于患者体内。微型体内机器人可以使外科医生克服当前腹腔镜手术的限制，如灵巧性、方位和可视化。
内布拉斯加大学医学中心外科系和内布拉斯加大学林肯分校工程学院的合作研究小组设计并制造了一种手术机器人原型，该机器人能够在腹膜腔内执行特定的手术任务。
基本机器人设计由两个臂组成，每个臂都连接到一个中央体。每个臂有三个自由度和旋转的肩部和肘部关节。这种组合允许外科医生进行抓取、操纵、烧灼和进行体内缝合。机器人的工作空间是一个空心半球，内半径为 75 毫米，外半径为 205 毫米。在对猪模型进行的四项手术中展示了其多功能性：胆囊切除术、部分结肠切除术、腹部探查术和体内缝合术。
微型体内机器人有可能解决使用铰接器械进行高级腹腔镜手术的限制。一旦插入腹腔，机器人就为可视化提供了一个稳定的平台，具有足够的灵巧性和速度，可以从多个方位和工作空间执行手术任务。
