Closing the Loop on Concentric Tube Robot Design: A Case Study on Micro-Laryngeal Surgery

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Surgical Technology
• Manufacturing Engineering

Background:

• Concentric tube robots (CTRs) offer advantages for minimally invasive surgery due to their size and maneuverability.
• Manufacturing variations, such as tube curvature and diameter, present significant challenges in translating CTR designs from simulation to physical prototypes.
• Existing design workflows often neglect these manufacturing uncertainties, leading to performance discrepancies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an end-to-end design workflow for concentric tube robots (CTRs) that explicitly incorporates manufacturing uncertainties.
• To investigate the impact of tube curvature and diameter variations on CTR performance.
• To develop a framework for robust CTR design that bridges the gap between simulation and real-world applications.

Main Methods:

• Developed a two-step design optimization process for CTRs.
• Integrated an uncertainty-based approach for selecting manufacturing tolerances.
• Utilized simulation to analyze the influence of manufacturing variations on robot performance.
• Conducted two hardware experiments to validate the proposed design workflow and its application in micro-laryngeal surgery.

Main Results:

• Manufacturing uncertainties, particularly tube curvature, were shown to significantly affect the performance of physical CTRs.
• The proposed design workflow successfully predicted that the performance of the physical robot would fall within the simulated probability distribution.
• The validated workflow demonstrated the feasibility of CTRs for micro-laryngeal surgical tasks.

Conclusions:

• Integrating manufacturing uncertainties into the design process is crucial for robust concentric tube robot (CTR) development.
• The proposed workflow enhances the reliability of CTRs by accounting for real-world manufacturing variations.
• This research establishes a new framework for robust design applicable to micro-laryngeal surgery and other complex robotic applications.