Page 454 - Flexible Robotics in Medicine

448 Chapter 19

the oral cavity into the trachea and precise drilling to create a breathing airway through the
trachea walls. This device is intended for use in conjunction with bronchoscopes to conduct
the tracheostomy process.

The tracheostomy procedure has conventionally involved in the use of a set of surgical tools:
introducer needle, J-tipped guidewire, stylet, and a serial dilator for tract dilation. Our novelty
lies in the use of flexible endotracheal drill manipulator to conduct the procedure through a
different methodology, by drilling the opening from the inside walls of the trachea.

Goldrill is a flexible cable-driven drill manipulator, where the cables are extended axially
along the modular segments to form the bending portion of the manipulator. Controlled by
a ratchet gear mechanism at the end, we can coil and tighten the wires. As such, when the
cables are tensioned, the modular segments will be tightened into its curved arrangement.
These segments have cuts those complement one another in function and structure can be
easily fabricated and miniaturized. By restricting the design to curve in one way, like a
right angle, we reduce freedom of movement to ensure that the device is stable as
vibrations during drilling are significantly reduced. This ensures specific and precise
drilling. Moreover, our design can be scaled to 0.8 1 cm diameter, to prevent constriction
and damage to the trachea environment.

Brief description of drawings

A detailed description of a preferred embodiment

Figure 19.S1
Isometric view of the flexible cable-driven drill manipulator shaft, showcasing the different cut
joints stacked into a curved rigid structure (left) and photograph of a prototype of the flexible
cable-driven drill in anatomical structure (right).