Authors
Alberto Arezzo, Yoav Mintz, Marco Ettore Allaix, Simone Arolfo, Marco Bonino, Giada Gerboni, Margherita Brancadoro, Matteo Cianchetti, Arianna Menciassi, Helge Wurdemann, Yohan Noh, Kaspar Althoefer, Jan Fras, Jakob Glowka, Zbigniew Nawrat, Gavin Cassidy, Rich Walker, Mario Morino
Publication date
2017/1
Journal
Surgical endoscopy
Volume
31
Pages
264-273
Publisher
Springer US
Description
Background
Sponsored by the European Commission, the FP7 STIFF-FLOP project aimed at developing a STIFFness controllable Flexible and Learn-able manipulator for surgical operations, in order to overcome the current limitations of rigid-link robotic technology. Herein, we describe the first cadaveric series of total mesorectal excision (TME) using a soft and flexible robotic arm for optic vision in a cadaver model.
Methods
TME assisted by the STIFF-FLOP robotic optics was successfully performed in two embalmed male human cadavers. The soft and flexible optic prototype consisted of two modules, each measuring 60 mm in length and 14.3 mm in maximum outer diameter. The robot was attached to a rigid shaft connected to an anthropomorphic manipulator robot arm with six degrees of freedom. The controller device was equipped with two joysticks …
Scholar articles
A Arezzo, Y Mintz, ME Allaix, S Arolfo, M Bonino… - Surgical endoscopy, 2017