Enhancing Otological Surgery: Co-Designing a Parallel Robot with Surgeon Input

TL;DR

The paper targets enhancing otological surgery by enabling robotic endoscope manipulation to alleviate surgeon burden. It adopts a co-design framework integrating surgeons, designers, ergonomic and optimization experts to derive a parallel robotic solution. The process yields a 2UPS+1U parallel mechanism with a remote center of motion; it demonstrates an optimization workflow reducing the design space from 13D to 4D, considers ergonomic constraints, and analyzes actuator workspace and singularities. This co-design-driven development aims to shorten operation times and improve usability and adaptability in clinical otology.

Abstract

This work presents the development of a parallel manipulator used for otological surgery from the perspective of co-design. Co-design refers to the simultaneous involvement of the end-users (surgeons), stakeholders (designers, ergonomic experts, manufacturers), and experts from the fields of optimization and mechanisms. The role of each member is discussed in detail and the interactions between the stakeholders are presented. Co-design facilitates a reduction in the parameter space considered during mechanism optimization, leading to a more efficient design process. Additionally, the co-design principles help avoid unforeseen errors and help in quicker adaptation of the proposed solution.

Figures (6)

• Figure 1: The comparison of the number of instruments used simultaneously while using an endoscope and a microscope.
• Figure 2: Interactions and knowledge transfer between experts.
• Figure 3: The surgeon demonstrates the expected output from the robot assistant to the design expert.
• Figure 4: The priorities set by surgeons for different requirements from a robot assistant.
• Figure 5: Schematic of the proposed 2UPS + 1U mechanism