This paper explores the design of “concentric push-pull robots” designed to make endoscopic surgery easier, such as biopsies or to removing polyps. In contrast to using colonoscopes which are difficult to maneuver, and may lead to longer procedure times and a higher chance of needing additional more invasive procedures, the authors designed concentric push-pull robots, which consist of two thin tubes, one inside the other, that are made of a material that can bend. The tubes are moved by pushing and pulling them from the end outside the body, which causes the tubes to bend in specific ways allowing for more precise control of the instruments inside the body.
The authors used the FEATool Multiphysics finite element (FEA) simulation toolbox to create 3D models of the tubes and analyze the stiffness while simulating how the tube would bend and twist in response to different forces. These simulations were then used to calculate the bending and torsional stiffness of the tube. They also used FEATool to investigate how the shape of the slots affected the stiffness properties. stiffness. Finally, they used simulation to optimize the design of the slots to achieve the desired balance of bending and torsional stiffness.
See the linked references for more detailed information about this research.
References
- Dang K.T., Qiu S., et al. Design of Transmission Tubes for Surgical Concentric Push-Pull Robots, International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR), 2024, doi: 10.1109/ISMR63436.2024.10585572.