Page 209 - Flexible Robotics in Medicine

196 Chapter 8

bodies are not made equal, and therefore operators estimate the position and depth to cut
when creating this opening. Complications [2] such as hemorrhage, loss of airways, fracture
of tracheal rings, damage to the swallowing tube, and many others may arise if the operator
is not proficient or experienced.
To reduce this difficulty in performing this procedure, we proposed to have a robotic
endoscopic drilling system that enters from the natural orifice, such as the mouth, to carry
out this surgery. The purpose is to make the surgically created opening from the inside-out,
which means that the robotic system would make the incision, by drilling, from inside the
trachea. How this works is by controlling this robotic endoscope from the mouth, down to
the trachea. Using the camera attached to the endoscope to visualize, the operator can
pinpoint the right location for the incision to take place. The operator would then use the
bendable drill to create an opening from inside the trachea.
This inside-out method eliminates the “estimation” needed by an operator when making
the incision from outside-in. Having a robotic system to carry out this procedure would
minimize the “human error” possibility that would arise when the surgery is carried out by a
human. Stability and accuracy would not be an issue for the robotic system [3].

8.1.2 Objective

The objective of this study is to improve the current bendable manipulator [4] to meet
the following requirements:

• Have a steerable bending motion of 90 degrees for the manipulator.
• Constant contact of the drill bit on a tissue for drilling to occur.
This prototype consists of the following components:

• manipulator to control the bending;
• flexible drill and drill bit for drilling action; and
• electrical components to control stepper motor for extension and rotation of the flexible drill.

In this chapter, we explore different materials and designs for the manipulator and how
each design is able and unable to meet the requirements. In Sections 8.4, 8.5, and 8.6,we
will cover the feasibility of each idea and how it can meet the requirement. We will touch
on characterizing the initial feasible prototypes.

8.2 Literature review

In this literature review, we look at the current development of the robotic system. Next, we
present the possible methods to implement for the bending of the manipulator. Finally, we
discuss the existing equipment or prototypes that are have been developed.