33 accepted papers
Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is typically the optimal treatment for acute ischemic stroke involving large vessel occlusions, but access is limited due to geographic and logistical barriers. Reinforcement learning (RL) shows promise in autonomous endovascular navigation, but generalization across ‘lo
This paper presents an uncertainty-aware shared control and calibration method for micromanipulation using a digital microscope and a tool-mounted, multi-joint robotic arm, integrating real-time human intervention with a visual-motor policy. Our calibration algorithm leverages co-manipulation contro
Therapies targeting neurodegenerative diseases via brain ventricles and spinal parenchyma face delivery challenges. Systemic administration is ineffective due to the blood-brain barrier, while direct surgical access, especially for multi-site delivery, is highly invasive. The spinal subarachnoid spa
This paper proposes a novel, more computationally efficient method for optimizing robot excitation trajectories for dynamic parameter identification, emphasizing self-collision avoidance. This addresses the system identification challenges for getting high-quality training data associated with co-ma…
This paper presents a lumped-parameter dynamic model of a pressure driven eversion robot carrying a catheter through its hollow core. A simulation framework based on the model is developed in MATLAB and is used for understanding the underlying physics, for identifying the regions of operation, and f…
This paper presents OpTaS, a task specification Python library for Trajectory Optimization (TO) and Model Predictive Control (MPC) in robotics. Both TO and MPC are increasingly receiving interest in optimal control and in particular handling dynamic environments. While a flurry of software libraries…
Concentric Tube Robots (CTRs) are promising for minimally invasive interventions due to their miniature diameter, high dexterity, and compliance with soft tissue. CTRs comprise individual pre-curved tubes usually composed of NiTi and are arranged concentrically. As each tube is relatively rotated an
Soft robots that grow through eversion/apical extension can effectively navigate fragile environments such as ducts and vessels inside the human body. This paper presents the physics-based model of a miniature steerable eversion growing robot. We demonstrate the robot's growing, steering, stiffening
This letter presents vision-based autonomous navigation of a steerable soft growing robot. Our experimental platform is the previously presented MAMMOBOT, which is a small-diameter eversion growing robot with an embedded steerable catheter. The current manuscript first models the robot using kinemat
Continuum surgical robots can navigate anatomical pathways to reach pathological locations deep inside the human body. Their flexibility, however, generally comes with reduced dexterity at their tip and limited workspace. Building on recent work on eccentric tube robots, this paper proposes a new co…
"This work considers supervised contrastive learning for semantic segmentation. We apply contrastive learning to enhance the discriminative power of the multi-scale features extracted by semantic segmentation networks. Our key methodological insight is to leverage samples from the feature spaces ema…
Reliable contact simulation plays a key role in the development of (semi-)autonomous robots, especially when dealing with contact-rich manipulation scenarios, an active robotics research topic. Besides simulation, components such as sensing, perception, data collection, robot hardware control, human…
Concentric tube robots (CTRs) are catheter-like robots that can navigate anatomical lumen to reach surgical targets that are deep inside the body. While CTRs have been extensively studied in quasi-static conditions, unique robot behaviours such as hysteresis and snapping, i.e. the sudden release of
This letter presents MAMMOBOT, one of the first millimetre-scale steerable soft growing robots for medical applications. MAMMOBOT aims to access the breast through the nipple and navigate the mammary ducts to detect precursors of invasive breast cancers. Addressing limitations of the state-of-the-ar
This letter introduces a novel 7 Degree Of Freedom (DOF) cable-driven haptic device based on the concept of a configurable cable platform. In the proposed concept, a 1-DOF pinch grasping capability is provided via a network of ten passive cables kept in tension. The coordinated action on the cable p
Tendrils are common stable structures in nature and are used for sensing, actuation, and geometrical stiffness modulation. In this paper, for the first time we exploit the helical geometry of a shape memory alloy (SMA) tendril as a simple to fabricate highly dexterous robotic continuum tentacle that…
This article presents a medical robotic system for deep orbital interventions, with a focus on Optic Nerve Sheath Fenestration (ONSF). ONSF is a currently invasive ophthalmic surgical approach that can reduce potentially blinding elevated hydrostatic intracranial pressure on the optic disc via an in
In this letter, we propose benefiting from load readings at the base of a continuum appendage for real-time forward integration of Cosserat rod model with application in configuration and tip load estimation. The application of this method is successfully tested for stiffness imaging of a soft tissu
Concentric tube robots (CTR) can traverse tightly curved paths and offer dexterity in constrained environments, making them advantageous for minimally invasive surgical scenarios that experience strict anatomical and surgical constraints. Their shape is controlled via rotation and translation of sev…
This paper presents a large scale, metric Structure from Motion (SfM) pipeline for generalised cameras with overlapping fields-of-view, and demonstrates it using Light Field (LF) images. We build on recent developments in algorithms for absolute and relative pose recovery for generalised cameras and…
A reliable, accurate, and yet simple dynamic model is important to analyze, design and control continuum manipulators. Such models should be fast, as simple as possible and user-friendly to be widely accepted by the ever-growing robotics research community. In this study, we introduce two new modeli…
The enhanced dexterity and manipulability offered by continuum manipulators makes them the robots of choice for complex procedures inside the human body. However, without tailored analytical tools to evaluate their manipulability, many capabilities of continuum robots such as safe and effective mani…
Despite several robots having been proposed for vitreoretinal surgery, there is limited information on their dynamic modeling. This gap leads to sub-optimal motor selection and hinders the application of advanced control schemes that would fulfill the goal of micro-precise surgery. This paper presen…
Twin-twin transfusion syndrome requires interventional treatment using a fetoscopically introduced laser to sever the shared blood supply between the fetuses. This is a delicate procedure relying on small instrumentation with limited articulation to guide the laser tip and a narrow field of view to
We propose a method for geometric calibration of multi-focus plenoptic cameras using raw images. Multi-focus plenoptic cameras feature several types of micro-lenses spatially aligned in front of the camera sensor to generate micro-images at different magnifications. This multi-lens arrangement provi…
The use of concentric tube robots has recognized advantages for accessing target lesions while conforming to certain anatomical constraints. However, their complex kinematics makes their safe telemanipulation in convoluted anatomy a challenging task. Collaborative control schemes, which guide the op…
Concentric tube robots comprise telescopic precurved elastic tubes. The robot's tip and shape are controlled via relative tube motions, i.e. tube rotations and translations. Non-linear interactions between the tubes, e.g. friction and torsion, as well as uncertainty in the physical properties of the…
Bronchoscopic interventions are widely performed for the diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases. However, for most endobronchial devices, the lack of a bendable tip restricts their access ability to get into distal bronchi with complex bifurcations. This paper presents the design of a new wire-dri
Safe and effective telemanipulation of concentric tube robots is hindered by their complex, non-intuitive kinematics. Guidance schemes in the form of attractive and repulsive constraints can simplify task execution and facilitate natural operation of the robot by clinicians. The real-time seamless c…
Whilst current minimally invasive surgical robots offer many advantages to the surgeon, most of them are still controlled using the traditional master-slave approach, without fully exploiting the complementary strengths of both the human user and the robot. This paper proposes a framework that provi…
Concentric tube robots are catheter-sized robots that are ideally suited for navigating along natural anatomical pathways and treating deep-seated pathologies. Their telemanipulation in dynamic environments requires on-line computation of inverse kinematics with simultaneous avoidance of anatomical…
Concentric tube robots have shown promise for minimally invasive surgical (MIS) tasks that require navigation via tortuous anatomical paths. Despite extensive research on their kinematic and dynamic modelling, however, inaccuracies and deformations of their shape due to unknown loads and collisions…