Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, 135 Yaguan Road, Tianjin, 300350, China.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, 135 Yaguan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin, 300350, China.
Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2023 Oct;18(10):1795-1810. doi: 10.1007/s11548-023-02875-5. Epub 2023 Apr 1.
Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has become the main treatment for early esophageal and gastric cancers, but the insufficient stiffness and large diameter of current devices increase the difficulty in operation. To address the above problems, this study proposes a variable stiffness manipulator with multifunctional channels for ESD.
The proposed manipulator has a diameter of just 10 mm and highly integrates a CCD camera, two optical fibers, two channels for instruments, and one channel for water and gas. Additionally, a compact wire-driven variable stiffness mechanism is also integrated. The drive system of the manipulator is designed, and the kinematics and workspace are analyzed. The variable stiffness and practical application performance of the robotic system are tested.
The motion tests verify that the manipulator has sufficient workspace and motion accuracy. The variable stiffness tests show that the manipulator achieves 3.55 times of stiffness variation instantly. Further insertion tests and operation test demonstrates that the robotic system is safe and can satisfy the needs in motion, stiffness, channels, image, illumination, and injection.
The manipulator proposed in this study highly integrates six functional channels and a variable stiffness mechanism in a 10 mm diameter. After kinematic analysis and testing, the performance and application prospect of the manipulator are verified. The proposed manipulator can promote the stability and accuracy of ESD operation.
内镜黏膜下剥离术（ESD）已成为治疗早期食管和胃癌的主要方法，但现有设备的刚度不足和直径较大增加了操作难度。针对上述问题，本研究提出了一种用于 ESD 的具有多功能通道的变刚度操纵器。
所提出的操纵器的直径仅为 10mm，高度集成了 CCD 摄像机、两根光纤、两个器械通道和一个水、气通道。此外，还集成了紧凑的线驱动变刚度机构。设计了操纵器的驱动系统，并对其运动学和工作空间进行了分析。测试了机器人系统的变刚度和实际应用性能。
运动测试验证了操纵器具有足够的工作空间和运动精度。变刚度测试表明，操纵器可实现 3.55 倍的瞬间刚度变化。进一步的插入测试和操作测试表明，该机器人系统安全可靠，能够满足运动、刚度、通道、图像、照明和注射的需求。
本研究提出的操纵器在 10mm 直径内高度集成了六个功能通道和一个变刚度机构。经过运动学分析和测试，验证了操纵器的性能和应用前景。所提出的操纵器可以提高 ESD 操作的稳定性和准确性。
