Pop-up tissue retraction mechanism for endoscopic surgery
S. Becker, T. Ranzani, S. Russo, R. J. Wood
Abstract
Numerous therapeutic transendoscopic procedures exist to treat lesions in the GI tract. However, these procedures are limited by their difficulty and the amount of training required to successfully perform them. The surgeon is tasked with simultaneously steering the distal tip of the endoscope, applying tension to tissue to retract it, and manipulating electro-cautery tools with limited dexterity. We propose a device designed to assist with anchoring and tissue retraction during endoscopic surgical procedures. The designed solution decouples the tissue-grasping function from the movement of the endoscope tip, leaving the surgeon free to use the endoscope tip solely for positioning of electro-cautery or biopsy tools deployed through the endoscope working channel. The anchoring and retraction device uses pop-up book MEMS techniques, allowing for a “flat” structure to expand into a 3-D structure. The proposed device has three main integrated components: a rigid expandable geometric structure, inflatable pneumatic actuators, and a vacuum gripper. These inflatable actuators include internal rigid discs, allowing for resistance to buckling while maintaining the benefits of the established lightweight, low profile actuator design scheme. Proof-of-concept ex vivo testing demonstrates that the integrated device can be used to retract tissue to a height of 13.5 mm, providing access for endoscopy tools to contact a sample of porcine stomach tissue.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2017_popuptissueretra,
title = {Pop-up tissue retraction mechanism for endoscopic surgery},
author = {S. Becker and T. Ranzani and S. Russo and R. J. Wood},
booktitle = {IROS 2017},
year = {2017}
}