TY - GEN
T1 - Development of a Novel Miniaturized Dexterous Manipulator with Variable Stiffness for NOTES
AU - Cong, Rong
AU - Wu, Xipeng
AU - Chao, Qian
AU - Zhang, Kaijie
AU - Duan, Xingguang
AU - Li, Changsheng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 IEEE.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) holds great promise due to its ability to eliminate external incisions, reduce trauma, and accelerate recovery. However, the adoption of NOTES is hindered by the limited capabilities of existing instruments, particularly in achieving the required balance between compact size, dexterity, and load capacity. This paper introduces a novel robotic manipulator designed for NOTES, featuring a 5 mm diameter and 7 degrees of freedom (DoF). The manipulator incorporates an innovative 3-PRS flexible parallel mechanism combined with a continuum parallel structure, achieving enhanced dexterity and variable stiffness functionality within a miniaturized design. A kinematic and variable stiffness analysis is performed, and experimental validation demonstrates its bending performance and stiffness modulation. Additionally, the feasibility and practicality of the robotic system are confirmed through a peg-transfer experiment, proving its potential for real-world surgical applications. This research offers a viable solution for enhancing the performance of NOTES instruments.
AB - Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) holds great promise due to its ability to eliminate external incisions, reduce trauma, and accelerate recovery. However, the adoption of NOTES is hindered by the limited capabilities of existing instruments, particularly in achieving the required balance between compact size, dexterity, and load capacity. This paper introduces a novel robotic manipulator designed for NOTES, featuring a 5 mm diameter and 7 degrees of freedom (DoF). The manipulator incorporates an innovative 3-PRS flexible parallel mechanism combined with a continuum parallel structure, achieving enhanced dexterity and variable stiffness functionality within a miniaturized design. A kinematic and variable stiffness analysis is performed, and experimental validation demonstrates its bending performance and stiffness modulation. Additionally, the feasibility and practicality of the robotic system are confirmed through a peg-transfer experiment, proving its potential for real-world surgical applications. This research offers a viable solution for enhancing the performance of NOTES instruments.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105029914588
U2 - 10.1109/IROS60139.2025.11247275
DO - 10.1109/IROS60139.2025.11247275
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105029914588
T3 - IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
SP - 373
EP - 379
BT - IROS 2025 - 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Conference Proceedings
A2 - Laugier, Christian
A2 - Renzaglia, Alessandro
A2 - Atanasov, Nikolay
A2 - Birchfield, Stan
A2 - Cielniak, Grzegorz
A2 - De Mattos, Leonardo
A2 - Fiorini, Laura
A2 - Giguere, Philippe
A2 - Hashimoto, Kenji
A2 - Ibanez-Guzman, Javier
A2 - Kamegawa, Tetsushi
A2 - Lee, Jinoh
A2 - Loianno, Giuseppe
A2 - Luck, Kevin
A2 - Maruyama, Hisataka
A2 - Martinet, Philippe
A2 - Moradi, Hadi
A2 - Nunes, Urbano
A2 - Pettre, Julien
A2 - Pretto, Alberto
A2 - Ranzani, Tommaso
A2 - Ronnau, Arne
A2 - Rossi, Silvia
A2 - Rouse, Elliott
A2 - Ruggiero, Fabio
A2 - Simonin, Olivier
A2 - Wang, Danwei
A2 - Yang, Ming
A2 - Yoshida, Eiichi
A2 - Zhao, Huijing
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2025
Y2 - 19 October 2025 through 25 October 2025
ER -