1. Development and testing of a grasper for NOTES powered by variable stiffness pneumatic actuation.
- Author
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Antonelli MG, Beomonte Zobel P, Durante F, and Gaj F
- Subjects
- Biomechanical Phenomena, Equipment Design, Finite Element Analysis, Humans, Models, Anatomic, Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery statistics & numerical data, Peritoneal Cavity surgery, Robotic Surgical Procedures statistics & numerical data, Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery instrumentation, Robotic Surgical Procedures instrumentation
- Abstract
Background: In natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) the peritoneal cavity is reached through natural orifices (mouth, rectus and transvaginal duct), by means of little cuttings in the walls of hollow organs. Due to narrow spaces, NOTES needs robotic systems to assure operation/movement precision and patient safety. Variable stiffness actuation (VSA) assures both requirements., Methods: The authors developed a grasper for NOTES, provided with VSA, to use as an end-effector for snail robot devices. The present paper deals with basic concepts of VSA and describes the design and architecture of the grasper. Characterization and functional experiments were performed and results analysed., Results: A finite element model developed for the actuator design was validated, performance grasper characteristic curves were obtained, VSA was validated, and the gripping capability of several objects was assessed., Conclusion: The grasper satisfies technical design specifications. On the basis of the results obtained, a control system can be developed to test grasper in a simulated surgery environment., (Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)
- Published
- 2017
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