Joint Platforms and Community Efforts in Surgical Robotics Research

In modern medical research and development, the variety of research tools has extended in the previous years. Exploiting the benefits of shared hardware platforms and software frameworks is crucial to keep up with the technological development rate. Sharing knowledge in terms of algorithms, applications and instruments allows researchers to help each other’s work effectively. Community workshops and publications provide a throughout overview of system design, capabilities, know-how sharing and limitations. This paper provides sneak peek into the emerging collaborative platforms, focusing on available open-source research kits, software frameworks, cloud applications, teleoperation training environments and shared domain ontologies

Robot Autonomy for Surgery

Autonomous surgery involves having surgical tasks performed by a robot operating under its own will, with partial or no human involvement. There are several important advantages of automation in surgery, which include increasing precision of care due to sub-millimeter robot control, real-time utilization of biosignals for interventional care, improvements to surgical efficiency and execution, and computer-aided guidance under various medical imaging and sensing modalities. While these methods may displace some tasks of surgical teams and individual surgeons, they also present new capabilities in interventions that are too difficult or go beyond the skills of a human. In this chapter, we provide an overview of robot autonomy in commercial use and in research, and present some of the challenges faced in developing autonomous surgical robots

Constrained Motion Planning System for MRI-Guided, Needle-Based, Robotic Interventions

In needle-based surgical interventions, accurate alignment and insertion of the tool is paramount for providing proper treatment at a target site while minimizing healthy tissue damage. While manually-aligned interventions are well-established, robotics platforms promise to reduce procedure time, increase precision, and improve patient comfort and survival rates. Conducting interventions in an MRI scanner can provide real-time, closed-loop feedback for a robotics platform, improving its accuracy, yet the tight environment potentially impairs motion, and perceiving this limitation when planning a procedure can be challenging. This project developed a surgical workflow and software system for evaluating the workspace and planning the motions of a robotics platform within the confines of an MRI scanner. 3D Slicer, a medical imaging visualization and processing platform, provided a familiar and intuitive interface for operators to quickly plan procedures with the robotics platform over OpenIGTLink. Robotics tools such as ROS and MoveIt! were utilized to analyze the workspace of the robot within the patient and formulate the motion planning solution for positioning of the robot during surgical procedures. For this study, a 7 DOF robot arm designed for ultrasonic ablation of brain tumors was the targeted platform. The realized system successfully yielded prototype capabilities on the neurobot for conducting workspace analysis and motion planning, integrated systems using OpenIGTLink, provided an opportunity to evaluate current software packages, and informed future work towards production-grade medical software for MRI-guided, needle-based robotic interventions

Advancements of a MicroSat for On-Orbit Satellite Surgery

The concept of a highly articulated microsat to perform in-space construction, assembly, and repair is emerging due to advancements in microelectronics, robotics, and microsatellite technology. The combination of these has led to investigating foundational elements for conducting remote space robotic missions that will enable machines to build machines. The idea goes beyond robotic systems designed to mate specialty-crafted space modules or in-space 3D printed structures. It addresses a means to work with typical flight hardware in this remote, lifeless environment. The work presented in this research has focused on creating a semi-autonomous platform that shares both autonomous GN&C operations with man-in-the-loop telerobotics. The testbed platform contains a means for target capture, attachment, and for conducting technician-like mechanical tasks that include gripping, cutting, and working with fasteners with an interchangeable tool set. As the system evolves, evaluation tests have shown many aspects are feasible such as cutting thermal insulation and wire. For instance, the system can reach into a harness, isolate a 26 ga. wire, and cut it. It has also been able to perform small cuts in thermal insulation membranes. Fasteners are proving to be more challenging due to robotic tool alignment and management of forces