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Design and Fabrication of an Elastomeric Unit for Soft Modular Robots in Minimally Invasive Surgery
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Soft Robotic Deployable Origami Actuators for Neurosurgical Brain Retraction.

Tomas Amadeo1, Daniel Van Lewen1, Taylor Janke1

  • 1Mechanical Engineering Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States.

Frontiers in Robotics and AI
|January 31, 2022
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Summary

Neurosurgeons face risks when using metallic tools near delicate brain tissue. This study introduces a novel soft robotic brain retractor designed for safer, minimally invasive surgical workspaces.

Keywords:
neurosurgeryorigami robotsretractionsoft roboticssurgical robotics

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Area of Science:

  • Neurosurgery
  • Soft Robotics
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Metallic surgical instruments pose risks of damage to delicate neurological tissue.
  • Current tools lack compliance, limiting minimally invasive approaches.
  • Soft robotics offers potential for safer, more adaptable surgical tools.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a novel soft robotic brain retractor for atraumatic surgical workspace generation.
  • To address the need for safer, compliant tools in neurosurgery.
  • To explore origami-inspired designs for deployable surgical devices.

Main Methods:

  • Design and fabrication of a pneumatically actuated, origami-inspired brain retractor.
  • Analytical modeling to predict device behavior.
  • Experimental characterization and in-vitro validation using a brain model.

Main Results:

  • The developed soft robotic retractor demonstrated potential for atraumatic workspace generation.
  • Analytical models provided insights into device mechanics.
  • In-vitro tests confirmed the device's feasibility on a brain model.

Conclusions:

  • Soft robotic technologies can significantly improve the safety and compliance of neurosurgical tools.
  • The presented origami-inspired retractor offers a promising approach for minimally invasive neurosurgery.
  • Further development could lead to advanced atraumatic surgical instruments.