A Shared-Control Dexterous Robotic System for Assisting Transoral Mandibular Fracture Reduction: Development and Cadaver Study

Abstract

The rigid and straight nature of conventional surgical drills and screwdrivers makes it difficult to access the posterior mandible for fracture reduction without the creation of facial incisions. To assist transoral mandibular fracture reduction in hard-to-reach areas, we propose a shared-control dexterous robotic system. The end effector of this system is an articulated drilling/screwing tool to provide distal dexterity. This system uses an admittance-control-based approach to provide precision and stability during shared-control hole-drilling processes. A cadaver study showed the efficacy of the proposed system to assist plate fixation in the reduction of mandibular fractures. The proposed articulated surgical tool was capable of drilling holes in and driving screws into the mandible of a cadaver head. In addition, the shared-control robotic system ensured that the drill moved along its axial direction, leading to stable and precise hole drilling.