Parallel Cable-Driven Prostate Puncture Robot: Design and Performance Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Surgical Technology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• MRI environments pose significant challenges for robotic surgical system design due to limited workspace and strong magnetic fields.
• Simplifying robot structure is essential for effective prostate puncture procedures within MRI scanners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel parallel cable-driven (PCD) robot for prostate puncture surgery.
• To address the design challenges posed by MRI's magnetic field and limited workspace.

Main Methods:

• Development of a parallel cable-driven (PCD) prostate puncture robot with preliminary material design.
• Establishment of kinematics, statics, and stiffness models, with verification of the wrench-feasible workspace.
• Utilizing multibody simulation and motion accuracy experiments (planar and spatial) for performance analysis.

Main Results:

• The robot achieved high motion accuracy, with horizontal position errors of 0.35 mm and 0.4 mm during phantom puncture experiments.
• Stiffness performance was evaluated, demonstrating the robot's capability for precise surgical tasks.
• The parallel cable-driven design was shown to be compatible with strong magnetic fields.

Conclusions:

• The proposed non-parallel cable-driven design simplifies robotic structure for MRI-compatible prostate puncture surgery.
• The robot demonstrates high motion accuracy and superior stiffness, crucial for surgical precision.
• This innovative design overcomes MRI environmental challenges, enhancing potential for robotic-assisted prostate interventions.