Feedback of interaction forces/torques in robot supported minimally invasive surgery (MIRS) meanwhile is a widely accepted advantage. To avoid parasitic effects on the according force/torque sensor, e. g. due to friction in the trocar, a sensor integration as distal as possible is advisable. Since common sensor principles are based on wire or fibre connection and since an axisymmetrical instrument's distal end has to be actuated in at least one additional degree of freedom (DoF) for full dexterity inside the patient, cable (or fibre) break is a serious problem. A constraint guided spine-kinematics without rotatory DoF at its distal end is proposed to reduce the danger of cable (or fibre) break due to a curved flection instead of a sharply bending joint. The properties of a constraint spine-kinematics with one DoF adapted to the special requests of an in-house developed MIRS-system is presented, verification data acquired in a specially developed test bed are shown. The results seem suitable for MIRS applications and for a progress towards a 2 DoF solution with the presented constraint principle.

This video presents the in-house developed DLR MiroSurge robotic system for surgery. As shown, the system is suitable for both minimally invasive and open surgery. Essential part of the system is the MIRO robot: The soft robotics feature enables intuitive interaction with the robot.

Telesurgery systems integrate multimodal communication and robotic technologies to enable surgical procedures to be performed from remote locations. They allow human surgeons to intuitively control laparoscopic instruments and to navigate within the human body. In this paper, we present selected topics on multimodal interaction in the context of telesurgery applications. These are results from the collaborative research project SFB 453 on ldquoHigh-Fidelity Telepresence and Teleactionrdquo which is funded by the German Research Foundation in the larger Munich area. The focus in this paper is on multimodal information processing and communication including simulation of surgical targets in the human body. Furthermore, we present an overview of our advanced multimodal telesurgery demonstrators that provide a comprehensive platform for our collaborative telepresence research.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) challenges the surgeon’s skills due to his separation from the operation area which can only be reached with long instruments. To overcome these drawbacks, minimally invasive robotic surgery (MIRS) plays an important role. This paper describes the development of actuated and sensorized instruments for minimally invasive robotic surgery which help to increase the surgeon’s immersion and dexterity.