Control of fracture reduction robot using force/torque measurement

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Robotics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Indirect traction is a common surgical technique for femoral fracture reduction, aiming to minimize bone stress and prevent complications.
• Current robotic systems struggle with precise control of fractured fragments due to the complex biomechanics of the human leg (knee and ankle joints).
• Existing methods lack accurate control over bone fragment positioning during robotic-assisted indirect traction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel control method for surgical robotic systems used in femoral fracture reduction.
• To enhance the precision of fracture fragment repositioning by integrating external force/torque measurements.
• To overcome the limitations of current robotic systems in managing the multi-jointed human leg during traction procedures.

Main Methods:

• Development of a surgical robotic system for femoral fracture reduction.
• Implementation of indirect traction utilizing a foot-gripping jig.
• Integration of external force/torque measurements from the human leg into the robotic control system.
• Evaluation of the robotic system's performance in achieving precise fracture reduction.

Main Results:

• The proposed control method significantly reduced repositioning errors.
• Linear repositioning error decreased from 6.8 mm to 0.7 mm.
• Angular repositioning error decreased from 15.9 degrees to 5.3 degrees.
• Demonstrated improved accuracy in controlling fractured bone fragment positioning.

Conclusions:

• The developed control method effectively enhances the precision of robotic-assisted femoral fracture reduction.
• Utilizing external force/torque measurements is crucial for overcoming the challenges posed by the human leg's biomechanics in robotic surgery.
• This approach offers a promising solution for more accurate and reliable surgical outcomes in fracture treatment.