Surgeons perform minimally invasive surgery using an image delivered by a laparoscope and a camera system that provides a high definition 2D image, but this leaves the surgeon without 3D depth perception. The lack of depth perception can slow the surgeon, increase the risk of misidentifying structures, and/or inadvertently cause unwanted injury to tissues surrounding the surgical site. To address the lack of depth perception, we propose a Surgical Structured Light (SSL) system that includes a 3D sensor capable of measuring and modeling the surgical site during a procedure. The 3D information provided by this system can enable the surgeon to: 1) improve the navigation of tools based on precise localization of instruments in relation to structures in the surgical site, 2) allow 3D visualizations side-by-side with a standard 2D color image, and 3) precisely measure sizes of structures (e.g., tumors) and distances between structures with simple mouse clicks. We demonstrate the accuracy of our SSL system using ex-vivo data on both a cylinder calibration object as well as various plastic organs.

In this paper, we present the integration and preliminary evaluation of a novel Insertable Robotic Effectors Platform (IREP) for Single Port Access Surgery (SPAS). The unique design of the IREP includes planar parallel mechanisms, continuum snake-like arms, wire-actuated wrists, and passive flexible components. While this design has advantages, it presents challenges in terms of modeling, control, and telemanipulation. The complete master-slave resolved-rates telemanipulation framework of the IREP along with its actuation compensation is presented. Experimental evaluation of the capabilities of this new surgical system include bi-manual exchange of rings, pick-and-place tasks, suture passing and knot tying. Results show that the IREP meets the minimal workspace and dexterity requirements specified for laparoscopic surgery, it allows for dual-arm operations such as tool exchange and knot tying in confined spaces. Although it was possible to tie a surgeon's knot with minimal training, suture passing was difficult due to the limited axial rotation of the distal wrists.

This paper presents the task specifications for designing a novel Insertable Robotic Effectors Platform (IREP) with integrated stereo vision and surgical intervention tools for Single Port Access Surgery (SPAS). This design provides a compact deployable mechanical architecture that may be inserted through a single Ø15 mm access port. Dexterous surgical intervention and stereo vision are achieved via the use of two snake-like continuum robots and two controllable CCD cameras. Simulations and dexterity evaluation of our proposed design are compared to several design alternatives with different kinematic arrangements. Results of these simulations show that dexterity is improved by using an independent revolute joint at the tip of a continuum robot instead of achieving distal rotation by transmission of rotation about the backbone of the continuum robot. Further, it is shown that designs with two robotic continuum robots as surgical arms have diminished dexterity if the bases of these arms are close to each other. This result justifies our design and points to ways of improving the performance of existing designs that use continuum robots as surgical arms.

This paper presents a novel design and preliminary kinematic analysis of an insertable robotic effector platform (IREP) for single port access (SPA) surgery. The IREP robot can be deployed into body cavity through a Ø15 mm skin incision to perform SPA procedures. It consists of two snake-like continuum robots as slave surgical assistants for tissue manipulation, two parallelogram mechanisms for the continuum robots' placement, and one controllable stereo vision module with integrated light source for depth perception and tool tracking. Design considerations and alternatives, calculations and preliminary simulations of this 17-DoF surgical robotic system are presented in this paper. The overall control system hierarchy for tele-manipulation using the IREP robot is also presented.

This paper describes work we have done in developing an insertable surgical imaging device with multiple degrees-of-freedom for minimally invasive surgery. The device is fully insertable into the abdomen using standard 12 mm trocars. It consists of a modular camera and lens system which has pan and tilt capability provided by 2 small DC servo motors. It also has its own integrated lighting system that is part of the camera assembly. Once the camera is inserted into the abdomen, the insertion port is available for additional tooling, motivating the idea of single port surgery. A third zoom axis has been designed for the camera as well, allowing close-up and far-away imaging of surgical sites with a single camera unit. In animal tests with the device we have performed surgical procedures including cholecystectomy, appendectomy, running (measuring) the bowel, suturing, and nephrectomy. The tests show that the new device is: (1) Easier and more intuitive to use than a standard laparoscope. (2) Joystick operation requires no specialized operator training. (3) Field of view and access to relevant regions of the body were superior to a standard laparoscope using a single port. (4) Time to perform procedures was better or equivalent to a standard laparoscope. We believe these insertable platforms will be an integral part of future surgical systems. The platforms can be used with tooling as well as imaging systems, allowing many surgical procedures to be done using such a platform.

Endoscopic imaging is still dominated by the paradigm of pushing long sticks into small openings. This approach has a number of limitations for minimal access surgery, such as narrow angle imaging, limited workspace, counter-intuitive motions and additional incisions for the endoscpic instruments. Our intent is to go beyond this paradigm, and remotize sensors and effectors directly into the body cavity. To this end, we have developed a prototype of a novel insertable pan/tilt endoscopic camera with an integrated light source. The package has a size of 110 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter and can be inserted into the abdomen through a standard trocar and then anchored onto the abdominal wall, leaving the incision port open for access. The camera package contains three parts: an imaging module, an illumination module, and a pan/tilt motion platform. The imaging module includes a lens and CCD imaging sensor. The illumination module attaches to the imaging module and has an array of LED light sources. The pan/tilt platform provides the imaging module with pan of 120 degrees and tilt motion of 90 degrees using small servo motors. A fixing mechanism is designed to hold the device in the cavity. A standard joy stick can be used to control the motion of the camera in a natural way. The design allows for multiple camera packages to be inserted through a single incision as well.