Related papers: Tendon-Actuated Concentric Tube Endonasal Robot (T…
Nasotracheal intubation (NTI) is critical for establishing artificial airways in clinical anesthesia and critical care. Current manual methods face significant challenges, including cross-infection, especially during respiratory infection…
With a slender redundant body, the tendon-driven robot (TDR) has a large workspace and great maneuverability while working in complex environments. TDR comprises multiple independently controlled robot segments, each with a set of driving…
Modern robots embody power and precision control. Yet, as robots undertake tasks that apply forces on humans, this power brings risk of injury. Soft robotic actuators use deformation to produce smooth, continuous motions and conform to…
Esophageal cancer remains a highly aggressive malignancy with low survival rates, requiring advanced surgical interventions like esophagectomy. Traditional manual techniques, including circular staplers, face challenges such as limited…
There is a surge of research interest in the field of tensegrity robotics. Robots developed under this paradigm provide many advantages and have distinguishing features in terms of structural compliance, dexterity, safety, and weight…
Tendon-Driven Continuum Robots (TDCRs) have the potential to be used in minimally invasive surgery and industrial inspection, where the robot must enter narrow and confined spaces. We propose a Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach to…
Enabling dexterous manipulation and safe human-robot interaction, soft robots are widely used in numerous surgical applications. One of the complications associated with using soft robots in surgical applications is reconstructing their…
Endovascular guidewire manipulation is essential for minimally-invasive clinical applications (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), Mechanical thrombectomy techniques for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), or Transjugular intrahepatic…
Magnetic elastomers deform under a magnetic field, working as a soft actuator. Untethered microbot made of magnetic elastomers have great potentials in performing medical tasks inside human body as mini doctors. However, the lack of a…
Robotic endoscopic systems provide intuitive control and eliminate radiation exposure, making them a promising alternative to conventional methods. However, the lack of axial force measurement from the robot remains a major challenge, as it…
Aerial robotic systems have raised emerging interests in recent years. In this article, we propose a novel aerial manipulator system that is significantly different from conventional aerial discrete manipulators: An Aerial Continuum…
Conventional soft pneumatic actuators, typically based on hollow elastomeric chambers, often suffer from small structural support and require costly geometry-specific redesigns for multimodal functionality. Porous materials such as foam,…
Continuum robots are flexible, thin manipulators capable of navigating confined or delicate environments making them well suited for surgical applications. Previous approaches to continuum robot state estimation typically rely on…
Computed Tomography (CT) image guidance enables accurate and safe minimally invasive treatment of diseases, including cancer and chronic pain, with needle-like tools via a percutaneous approach. The physician incrementally inserts and…
To address the issues that arise due to the manual navigation of guidewires in endovascular interventions, research in medical robotics has taken a strong interest in developing robotically steerable guidewires, which offer the possibility…
This paper focuses on the optimal design of a tendon-driven continuum robot (TDCR) based on its feasible static workspace (FSW). The TDCR under consideration is a two-segment robot driven by eight tendons, with four tendon actuators per…
A challenging and important problem for tendon-driven multi-fingered robotic hands is to ensure grasping adaptivity while minimizing the number of actuators needed to provide human-like functionality. Inspired by the Pisa/IIT SoftHand, this…
Microsurgery is a particularly impactful yet challenging form of surgery. Robot assisted microsurgery has the potential to improve surgical dexterity and enable precise operation on such small scales in ways not previously possible.…
Upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) treatments frequently employ transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) for procedures such as the removal of tumors or polyps. In TLM, a laser beam is used to cut target tissue, while forceps are employed to grasp,…
Concentric Tube Robots (CTRs) have garnered significant interest within the surgical robotics community because of their flexibility, dexterity, and ease of miniaturization. However, mastering the unique kinematics and design principles of…