Design of a flexible fetoscopy manipulation system for congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Recent advancements in fetal surgery have proven that tracheal occlusion in fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia is an effective way to prevent the occurrence of pulmonary hypoplasia. A novel flexible fetoscope with a parallel mechanism structure of a thumbstick to carry on the fetal tracheal balloon occlusion by the targeting and manipulation of the fetal endoscope at a high standard of quick response and dexterity is proposed in this paper. This design is compared with a commercial rigid fetoscope in terms of operation timing and reduced stress to the fetus at neck level. Experiments using a phantom have demonstrated that the flexible fetoscope has a better dexterity and is able to perform stable tracheoscopy and balloon inflation at different levels of the trachea, with the help of a fiberoptic camera.