A modular, mechatronic joint design for a flexible access platform for MIS

This paper introduces a modular, mechatronic joint design for a flexible access minimally invasive surgical platform. The design features a hybrid tendon-micromotor actuation scheme coupled via an internal “ring gear”. This configuration transmits the rotary motion of the embedded micromotor to joint rotation in an efficient manner while also providing a hollow lumen through the centre of the joint unit. Detailed analyses of the joint design including tendon path length, positional accuracy and force/torque transmission characteristics are presented. The design has been incorporated into a dexterous, seven degree-of-freedom flexible access platform and its clinical efficacy for performing a Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) diagnostic peritoneoscopy in an in-vivo environment is presented.