Design and modeling of novel modular 2 DOF microsurgical forceps for transoral laser microsurgeries

Transoral Laser Microsurgeries (TLM) are complex otolaryngological procedures requiring the surgeons to perform intraoperative tissue manipulation with great level of control, accuracy and precision. The process involves the use of a surgical laser to treat abnormalities in the throat without any external incisions. The best removal of the malignant tissue is possible only with coordinated control of the laser aiming for incision and the microsurgical tools for orienting and stretching the tissue. However, the traditional microsurgical tools are long, single purpose, one degree-of-freedom (DOF), rigid tools with small range of motion and a traditional grasping handle inducing non-ergonomic usage. Additionally, there are different variety of microsurgical tools with different modes of actuation for the forceps jaws, i.e., in one mode push action of inner translating rod closes the forceps jaws and in other mode the same action opens the jaws. This paper presents a novel, modular microsurgical tool design to overcome the challenges of the traditional tools and improve the surgeon-tool usage experience. The novel design adds a rotational DOF to expand the reach and functionality of the tool. The device is provided with a grasping handle that avoids extreme wrist excursions. A straight line motion mechanism is synthesized such that it is capable of adapting to the variety of tools used in TLM within the same device design. This mechanism was validated by ADAMS simulation as well. The proposed new design adds benefits of functional usage for the surgeons, potentially simplifying the surgical tasks.