A Novel Tele-Operated Flexible Robot Targeted for Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery

In this paper, a novel flexible robot system with a constrained tendon-driven serpentine manipulator(CTSM) is presented. The CTSM gives the robot a larger workspace, more dexterous manipulation, and controllable stiffness compared with the da Vinci surgical robot and traditional flexible robots. The robot is tele-operated using the Novint Falcon haptic device. Two control modes are implemented, direct mapping and incremental mode. In each mode, the robot can be manipulated using either the highest stiffness scheme or the minimal movement scheme. The advantages of the CTSM are shown by simulation and experimental results.

Robotic lobectomy-the future of minimally invasive lobectomy?

It has been almost 20 years since the first reports of minimally invasive lobectomies appeared. Despite the tremendous amounts of research performed on VATS lobectomy showing its benefit over open thoracotomy, a mere 32% of all lobectomies are performed via this technique in the Society for Thoracic Surgeons database and only 6% in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample （1）. So, why is it that in a recent review of clinical stage I lung cancers over 70% were still completed using open thoracotomy？（2）. Advocates of an open approach still cite the ability to sample and perform a ＂more thorough＂ lymphadenectomy, the instability of the VATS platform and the lack of precision with the fissure-less-dissection VATS technique as reasons to maintain the status quo.

Least Squares Support Vector Machine Kalman Filter for Physiological Tremor Suppression in Minimally Invasive Surgical Robot

This paper studies the physiological tremor filtering in minimally invasive surgical robot.The surgeon􀆳s physiological tremor of the hand can cause the vibration of the tip of the surgical instrument,which may reduce operative accuracy and limit the application of surgical robots.Aiming at the vibration caused by physiological tremor of hand,we propose a Least Squares Support Vector Machine Kalman Filter(LSSVMKF),which can filter the tremor by estimating and modeling the tremor signal by Kalman filter and then superimposing it reversely in the control signal.When estimating and modeling the tremor signal,the filter uses the Least Squares Support Vector Machine(LS⁃SVM)to build the regression model of the constant parameters(Process Noise Covariance and Measurement Noise Covariance)of the traditional Kalman filter,which can dynamically adjust these parameters during the operation and improve the accuracy of Kalman filter.The simulation results show that the LSSVMKF can effectively filter out the tremor signal,thereby improving the accuracy of surgery.

Applications and prospects of robotic surgery in esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer(EC)is among the most common malignances and one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide.Surgery plays a significant role in the multidisciplinary treatment for esophageal cancer.Recent advances in minimally invasive esophagectomy(MIE),including conventional thoracoscopic surgery and more recent robotic surgery,has been shown to improve short-term outcomes compared to open surgery.Robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy(RAMIE)was first performed in 2003 and has been increasingly utilized in tertiary medical centers.Compared to conventional video-assisted minimally esophagectomy(VAMIE),RAMIE provides certain advantages such as increased magnification,three-dimensional visual clarity and better lymphadenectomy,with superior short-term outcome and at least equivalent oncological results.This review focuses on the techniques,benefits and obstacles in applications of robotic esophagectomy for treating EC,meanwhile discussing the future of robotic esophageal surgery.