Development of Surgical System Using Bellows-Type Foldable Five-Fingered Robot Hand Inserted through a 20-mm Port

The purpose of this study was to develop a robotic hand to assist with large organs, instead of using a surgeon, in laparoscopic surgery. Grasping, pinching, and exclusion were performed by three subjects with no medical knowledge. The results indicate that the proposed system can perform surgical operations in hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery when the subjects are proficient. However, the thumb mechanism and the wrist control method were required improvement because it was difficult to approach organs. Surgeons were asked to operate the robotic hand while watching the laparoscope image, and they were able to grasp and pinch with little practice.