Laser Endoscopic Manipulator Using Spring-Reinforced Multi-DoF Soft Actuator

The flexible manipulators and related robotic systems have been widely used in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for enhancing the intraoperative inspection and surgical operation. Although a variety of flexible manipulators using different mechanisms have been developed, most of them are rigid mechanical structures or single function, which lack softness, robustness or in-situ diagnosis and surgical treatment. To enrich the flexibility and therapeutic function of manipulators, we developed a laser endoscopic manipulator with a soft bendable tip. The soft bendable tip is composed of a spring-reinforced soft actuator with multiple channels, which are designed for placing diagnosis and therapy probes to enrich the integrated diagnosis and therapeutic function. Pilot results show that the actuator can bend and elongate in the three-dimensional space and the spring-reinforced structure increases the linearity and consistency of the soft actuator. Experimental outcomes demonstrate that the proposed robotic system has extended bending capability and integrated diagnosis and therapeutic function. The multiple functions with surgical tools and laser fiber realize in-situ therapy. Therefore, it would be an enhancement for future clinical applications such as single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPL) or neurosurgery.