A Novel Tele-operated Flexible Manipulator Based on the da-Vinci Research Kit

Flexible manipulators is now attracting an increasing interest in the field of minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Compared to rigid instruments, they could work in confined space and go through tortuous passes. The constrained tendon-driven serpentine mechanism (CTSM) is one of the novel flexible mechanisms proposed recently. It could provide a larger workspace and more dexterous distal end manipulation. In this paper, a number of flexible instruments were developed based on the CTSM and tele-operation was achieved by using the the da Vinci Research Kit (DVRK). The developed flexible instruments successfully completed the tasks that are commonly used in MIS training, including peg transfer and knotting.